[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 145 (Thursday, July 30, 2009)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 37977-37978]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-18264]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 648

[Docket No. 0907201154-91155-01]
RIN 0648-AX99


Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Northeast (NE) Skate 
Complex Fishery; Notice of a Control Date for the Purpose of Limiting 
Entry to the Skate Bait Fishery; NE Skate Complex Fishery Management 
Plan (Skate FMP)

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

ACTION:  Advance notice of proposed rulemaking; request for comments.

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SUMMARY:  NMFS announces that it is considering, and is seeking public 
comment on, proposed rulemaking to control future access to the skate 
bait fishery in the NE skate complex if a management regime is 
developed and implemented under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 
Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act) to limit the 
number of participants in this component of the skate fishery. This 
component of the fishery includes vessels with open access skate 
permits that fish for skates to be sold as bait. This announcement is 
intended, in part, to promote awareness of potential eligibility 
criteria for future access so as to discourage new or speculative entry 
into the fishery while the New England Fishery Management Council 
(Council) considers whether and how access to the skate bait fishery 
should be controlled.

DATES:  The date of publication of this document, July 30, 2009, shall 
be known as the ``control date'' and may be

[[Page 37978]]

used for establishing eligibility criteria for determining levels of 
future access to the subject fishery, subject to Federal authority. 
Written comments must be received on or before 5 p.m., local time, 
August 31, 2009.

ADDRESSES:  You may submit comments, identified by 0648-AX99, by any 
one of the following methods:
     Electronic Submissions: Submit all electronic public 
comments via the Federal eRulemaking Portal http://www.regulations.gov.
     Fax: (978) 281-9135, Attn: Tobey Curtis.
     Mail: Patricia A. Kurkul, Regional Administrator, NMFS, 
Northeast Regional Office, One Blackburn Drive, Gloucester, MA 01930. 
Mark the outside of the envelope, ``Comments on Skate Bait Fishery 
Control Date.''
    Instructions: All comments received are a part of the public record 
and will generally beposted 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.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:  Tobey Curtis, Fishery Policy Analyst, 
phone 978-281-9273, fax 978-281-9135.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In 2003, NMFS implemented the Skate FMP to 
manage a complex of seven skate species in the Northeast Region: Winter 
(Leucoraja ocellata); little (L. erinacea); thorny (Amblyraja radiata); 
barndoor (Dipturus laevis); smooth (Malacoraja senta); clearnose (Raja 
eglanteria); and rosette (L. garmani). The FMP established biological 
reference points and overfishing definitions for each species, and 
other management measures designed to rebuild species that were 
considered overfished (barndoor and thorny). Regulations for the skate 
fishery are found at 50 CFR part 648 subpart O.
    There are two distinct skate fisheries managed under the FMP: A 
skate wing fishery, which harvests the pectoral fins of large skates 
(primarily winter skate) for foreign and domestic food markets; and a 
skate bait fishery, which targets whole little skates to be sold 
primarily for bait in the American lobster fishery. The skate fishery 
currently operates under possession limits of 20,000 lb (9,072 kg) of 
wings for trips greater than 24 hr in duration, or 10,000 lb (4,536 kg) 
of wings for trips less than 24 hr in duration. Vessels participating 
in the skate bait fishery, however, can request a Letter of 
Authorization from the Regional Administrator to be exempt from these 
trip limits, and often land in excess of 20,000 lb (9,072 kg) of whole 
skates per trip to fill bait orders for lobster vessels.
    In 2007, the Council began development of Amendment 3 to the Skate 
FMP. The amendment is intended to establish a rebuilding plan for 
smooth skate, which is currently considered overfished, and bolster the 
rebuilding plan for thorny skate, which remains overfished. Amendment 
3, if approved by the Secretary of Commerce, will also implement annual 
catch limits (ACLs) and accountability measures (AMs), consistent with 
the new requirements of the reauthorized Magnuson-Stevens Act. The 
Council has also proposed new management measures for the skate bait 
fishery, including seasonal quotas, and reduced possession limits, 
under Amendment 3. Amendment 3 measures will be proposed through a 
separate rulemaking in the near future.
    In light of these new proposed restrictions and their impacts, 
members of the skate bait industry and the Council's Skate Oversight 
Committee recommended that the Council consider restricting new 
entrants to the skate bait fishery. This Advance Notice of Proposed 
Rulemaking is intended to discourage new or speculative entry into the 
bait fishery while controlled access restrictions are considered by the 
Council. The date upon which this notice is published shall be known as 
the ``control date,'' which is intended to distinguish established 
participants from new or speculative entrants to the fishery. Entering 
the fishery before the control date does not necessarily ensure fishing 
vessels of future access to the skate resource on the grounds of 
previous participation, because additional and/or other qualifying 
criteria may be applied. The Council may choose different and variably 
weighted measures to qualify participants based on the type and length 
of participation in the skate bait fishery or any other criteria.
    This notification establishes July 30, 2009 as the control date for 
potential use in determining historical or traditional participation in 
the skate bait fishery. Consideration of a control date does not commit 
the Council or NMFS to develop any particular management system or 
criteria for participation in this fishery. The Council may choose a 
different control date, or may choose a management program that does 
not make use of such a date.
    Fishing vessels are not guaranteed future participation in the 
fishery, regardless of their entry dates or level of participation in 
this fishery before or after the control date. The Council may choose 
to give variably weighted consideration to vessels active in the 
fishery before and after the control date. The Council may also choose 
to take no further action to control entry or access to the fishery, in 
which case the control date may be rescinded. Any action by the Council 
will be taken pursuant to the requirements for the development of FMP 
amendments established under the Magnuson-Stevens Act.
    This notification also gives the public notice that interested 
participants should locate and preserve records that substantiate and 
verify their participation in the skate bait fishery in Federal waters.

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

    Dated: July 24, 2009.
James W. Balsiger,
Acting Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. E9-18264 Filed 7-29-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-S