[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 106 (Thursday, June 4, 2009)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 26827-26829]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-13089]


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

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 622

RIN 0648-AW12


Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and South Atlantic; 
Snapper-Grouper Fishery off the Southern Atlantic States; Amendment 15B

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

ACTION: Notice of availability of fishery management plan amendment; 
request for comments.

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

SUMMARY: The South Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council) has 
submitted Amendment 15B to the Fishery Management Plan for the Snapper-
Grouper Fishery of the South Atlantic Region (FMP) for review, 
approval, and implementation by NMFS. Amendment 15B proposes actions to 
require a private recreational vessel that fishes in the exclusive 
economic zone (EEZ), if selected by NMFS, to maintain and submit 
fishing records; require a vessel that fishes in the EEZ, if selected 
by NMFS, to carry an observer and install an electronic logbook (ELB) 
and/or video monitor provided by NMFS; prohibit the sale of snapper-
grouper harvested under the bag limits by a vessel for which a Federal 
charter vessel/headboat permit for South Atlantic snapper-grouper has 
been issued, regardless of where the snapper-grouper were harvested; 
require an owner and operator of a vessel for which a commercial or 
charter vessel/headboat permit has been issued and that has on board 
any hook-and-line gear to comply with sea turtle and smalltooth sawfish 
release protocols, possess on board specific gear to ensure proper 
release of such species that are incidentally caught; expand the 
allowable transfer of a commercial vessel permit under the limited 
access program and extend the allowable period for renewal of such a 
permit. Amendment 15B also proposes to revise the stock status 
determination criteria for golden tilefish and specify commercial/
recreational allocations for snowy grouper and red porgy. The intended 
effects of this amendment are to provide additional information for, 
and otherwise improve the effective management of, the South Atlantic 
snapper-grouper fishery; minimize the impacts on incidentally caught 
threatened and endangered sea turtles and smalltooth sawfish.

DATES: Comments must be received no later than 5 p.m., eastern time, on 
August 3, 2009.

ADDRESSES: You many submit comments, identified by ``0648-AW12'', 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, Attn: Kate Michie.
     Mail: Kate Michie, Southeast Regional Office, NMFS, 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. Enter ``N/A'' in the required 
fields if you wish to remain anonymous. Attachments to electronic 
comments will be accepted in Microsoft Word, Excel, WordPerfect, or 
Adobe PDF file formats only.
    Requests for copies of Amendment 15B, which includes an 
environmental impact statement, a regulatory impact review, a 
regulatory flexibility analysis, and a fishery impact statement, should 
be sent to 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: Kate Michie, telephone: 727-824-5305; 
fax: 727-824-5308.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background

    The South Atlantic snapper-grouper fishery is managed under the 
FMP. The 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.

Specifying Allocations for Snowy Grouper and Red Porgy

    In order to ensure the adverse socioeconomic impacts of ending 
overfishing and rebuilding overfished stocks are fairly and equitably 
distributed, the Council is specifying allocations between the 
commercial and

[[Page 26828]]

recreational sectors for snowy grouper and red porgy. An allocation for 
snowy grouper and red porgy is needed to divide the future allowable 
harvest as designated by the rebuilding trajectory between commercial 
and recreational sectors. Without the designation of an allocation, the 
Council is unable to identify the allowable catch in either sector.

Updating Management Reference Points for Golden Tilefish

    A recent stock assessment of golden tilefish has provided numerical 
values for benchmarks, including optimum yield (OY) and minimum stock 
size threshold (MSST). The OY redefinition is more consistent with 
National Standard 1 of the Magnuson-Stevens Act, which states 
conservation and management measures shall prevent overfishing while 
achieving, on a continuing basis, the OY for each fishery for the 
United States fishing industry. The MSST redefinition for golden 
tilefish is set at a level that establishes a more appropriate 
difference between an overfished condition and the rebuilding goal.

Modification of Snapper-grouper Sale Provisions

    Through Amendment 15B the Council would prohibit bag limit sales of 
snapper-grouper in the South Atlantic in order to address 
socioeconomic, data quality, and enforcement concerns. Current 
regulations allow the sale of snapper-grouper taken from the South 
Atlantic EEZ, up to the allowed bag limit, to be sold to a licensed 
dealer if the seller possesses a state-issued license to sell fish, 
whether or not the seller has a commercial vessel permit. Fish 
harvested and marketed in this manner, whether harvested by for-hire 
vessels or private anglers, are counted against the commercial quotas, 
resulting in accelerated quota closure and reducing the amount and 
value of harvests allocated to the commercial sector. Accelerated 
closures impose additional economic losses through market disruption 
and forced alteration of fishing practices, including transfer of 
effort other resources that may be less valuable and/or more expensive 
to catch. The effects of this situation are exacerbated by the current 
reduced commercial quotas. In addition, such fish are also counted 
against the recreational allocations, thus complicating fishery 
assessments. Accordingly, this rule would prohibit the sale of South 
Atlantic snapper-grouper harvested in the EEZ and possessed under the 
bag limits. The prohibition would apply not only to a person fishing 
from a private recreational vessel but also to a person fishing from a 
vessel operating as a charter vessel or headboat even if such charter 
vessel/headboat has a commercial vessel permit. In addition, this rule 
would prohibit the sale of snapper-grouper harvested under the bag 
limits by a vessel for which a Federal charter vessel/headboat permit 
for South Atlantic snapper-grouper has been issued, regardless of where 
the snapper-grouper were harvested, i.e., in state or Federal waters.

Improvements to Bycatch Monitoring

    The Council also addresses bycatch issues in the snapper-grouper 
fishery in Amendment 15B. A significant number of snapper-grouper are 
released by fishermen, often resulting in incidental mortality of 
bycatch. Biologically, such bycatch mortality may constitute a 
significant portion of the mortality for many species and cause 
ecological changes to the environment in the form of altered predator-
prey relationships. Therefore, the Council is seeking to implement a 
long-term, standardized monitoring and assessment program through the 
expansion of the existing requirement for fishing reports to include 
such private recreational vessels as are selected by the Science and 
Research Director, Southeast Fisheries Science Center, NMFS (SRD). 
Other actions aimed at improving bycatch monitoring include a 
requirement for an owner and operator of a vessel with a commercial 
vessel or charter vessel/headboat permit for South Atlantic snapper-
grouper and an owner and operator of a private recreational vessel in 
that fishery, if selected by the SRD, to carry a NMFS-approved observer 
on trips selected by the SRD and/or participate in a NMFS sponsored ELB 
video monitoring reporting program as directed by the SRD. Video 
monitoring hardware and software could provide a cost-effective and 
reliable system of monitoring bycatch, release mortality, handling of 
fish, and other shipboard practices. Pertinent data collected by a 
video electronic monitoring system would include species caught, number 
of hooks, location, depth, date, time, and disposition of released 
organisms. NMFS would also rely on state corporation, specifically 
funded projects, and the Atlantic Coastal Cooperative Statistics 
Program's Release, Discard, and Protected Species Module, as the module 
is implemented.

Reduce Bycatch Mortality of ESA Listed Species

    On June 7, 2006, NMFS completed a formal Section 7 consultation 
under the Endangered Species Act on the South Atlantic snapper-grouper 
fishery. The biological opinion stated the vertical line and bottom 
longline gear used in the snapper-grouper fishery were likely to 
adversely affect threatened and endangered sea turtles and smalltooth 
sawfish, via entanglement, hooking, and/or forced submergence. One of 
the terms and conditions to implement a reasonable and prudent measure 
established under the biological opinion, requires NMFS, in cooperation 
with the Council, to implement sea turtle bycatch release equipment 
requirements, and sea turtle and smalltooth sawfish handling protocols 
and/or guidelines in the permitted commercial and for-hire snapper-
grouper fishery. Therefore, this amendment would require a vessel for 
which a commercial or charter vessel/headboat permit has been issued 
for South Atlantic snapper-grouper to possess a document provided by 
NMFS titled, ``Careful Release Protocols for Sea Turtle Release With 
Minimal Injury;'' post the sea turtle handling and release guidelines 
placard provided by NMFS on the vessel; have sea turtle release gear on 
board; and follow specified release handling measures for a sea turtle 
or smalltooth sawfish that is caught incidentally.

Permit Renewal and Transferability Requirement Modifications

    In Amendment 15B the Council has also included measures to address 
permit renewal and transferability issues. Currently, South Atlantic 
commercial snapper-grouper permits must be renewed within 60 days of 
the date they expire. The Council believes the 60-day requirement is 
overly restrictive and presents an unnecessary hardship to fishery 
participants. As a result, the Council is considering extending the 
commercial snapper-grouper permit renewal deadline to one year. 
Additionally, current regulations state that a transferable commercial 
vessel permit issued under the limited access program may be 
transferred only to an immediate family member of the holder. An 
``immediate family member'' is specified as a husband, wife, son, 
daughter, brother, sister, mother, or father. This restriction has 
precluded owners of individually owned vessels from changing to 
corporate ownership and the realization of the associated benefits. 
Accordingly, Amendment 15B proposes to allow transfer to a corporation, 
provided the shareholders of the corporation are limited to the 
original permit holder and/or his/her immediate family members. 
Subsequent

[[Page 26829]]

additional shareholders would be limited to immediate family members.
    The Council has submitted Amendment 15B for Secretarial review, 
approval, and implementation. NMFS' decision to approve, partially 
approve, or disapprove Amendment 15B will be based, in part, on 
consideration of comments, recommendations, and information received 
during the comment period on this notice of availability. After 
consideration of these factors, and consistency with the Magnuson-
Stevens Act and other applicable laws, NMFS will publish a final rule 
in the Federal Register announcing the Agency's decision to approve, 
partially approve, or disapprove Amendment 15B, and the associated 
rationale. If approved, the provisions of Amendment 15B would be 
specified in regulations.
    Public comments received by 5 p.m. eastern time, on August 3, 2009, 
will be considered by NMFS in the approval/disapproval decision 
regarding Amendment 15B.

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

    Dated: May 29, 2009.
Kristen C. Koch,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. E9-13089 Filed 6-3-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-S