[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 20 (Monday, January 31, 2011)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 5326-5327]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-2129]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 622

[Docket No. 110114033-1032-01]
RIN 0648-BA32


Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and South Atlantic; 
King and Spanish Mackerel Coastal Migratory Pelagic Fishery Off the 
Southern Atlantic States; Control Date

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

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

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SUMMARY: NMFS announces that it is establishing a new control date to 
control future access to the king and Spanish mackerel components of 
the coastal migratory pelagics fishery operating in the exclusive 
economic zone (EEZ) of the South Atlantic. 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 further 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 South Atlantic 
Fishery Management Council (Council) and NMFS consider whether and how 
access to the fishery should be controlled.

DATES: Written comments must be received on or before 5 p.m., eastern 
time, March 2, 2011.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by 0648-BA32, by any one 
of the following methods:
     Electronic Submissions: Submit all electronic public 
comments via the Federal eRulemaking Portal http://www.regulations.gov.
     Fax: Attn: Karla Gore 727-824-5308.
     Mail: Karla Gore, 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 (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.

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: At the September 2010 Council meeting, the 
Council recommended a new control date of September 17, 2010, for king 
and Spanish mackerel. The Council requested a new control date for the 
king and Spanish mackerel components because the Gulf of Mexico Fishery 
Management Council is beginning to look at latent permits which may 
ultimately impact the Council. A previous control date for the 
commercial king and Spanish mackerel components had been established on 
June 15, 2004 (70 FR 67985). The control date would apply to persons 
who are contemplating fishing for king and Spanish mackerel in the EEZ 
of the South Atlantic region. The Council requested that this control 
date be published in the Federal Register to notify fishermen that if 
they enter such a fishery after September 17, 2010, they may not be 
assured of future access if the Council and/or NMFS decide to further 
limit entry or impose other measures to manage this segment of the 
coastal migratory pelagics fishery.

[[Page 5327]]

    Establishment of the new control date would allow the Council to 
evaluate the level of participation in the king and Spanish mackerel 
components of the coastal migratory pelagic fishery and address any 
level of overcapacity. Control dates are intended to discourage 
speculative entry into a fishery, as new entrants entering the fishery 
after the control date are forewarned that they are not guaranteed 
future participation in the fishery.
    Establishment of this control date does not commit the Council or 
NMFS to any particular management regime or criteria for entry into the 
coastal migratory pelagic fishery. Fishermen are not guaranteed future 
participation in the fishery regardless of their level of participation 
before or after the control date. The Council may recommend a different 
control date or it may recommend a management regime that does not 
involve a control date. Other criteria, such as documentation of 
landings or fishing effort, may be used to determine eligibility for 
participation in a limited access fishery. The Council and/or NMFS 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. Any action by 
the Council will be taken pursuant to the requirements for fishery 
management plan and amendment development 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 coastal migratory pelagics fishery in 
the South Atlantic EEZ.
    Classification:
    Executive Order 12866: This rule has been determined to be not 
significant for purposes of EO 12866.

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

    Dated: January 25, 2011.
Samuel D. Rauch III,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2011-2129 Filed 1-28-11; 8:45 am]
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