[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 120 (Wednesday, June 22, 2011)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Page 36511]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-15639]



[[Page 36511]]

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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 648

RIN 0648-BA22


Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Atlantic Deep-Sea 
Red Crab; Amendment 3

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

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

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SUMMARY: NMFS announces that the New England Fishery Management Council 
(Council) has submitted Amendment 3 to the Atlantic Deep-Sea Red Crab 
Fishery Management Plan (FMP) (Amendment 3), incorporating a draft 
Environmental Assessment (EA) and an Initial Regulatory Flexibility 
Analysis (IRFA), for review by the Secretary of Commerce. NMFS is 
requesting comments from the public on Amendment 3, which was developed 
by the Council to bring the FMP into compliance with the annual catch 
limit (ACL) and accountability measure (AM) requirements of the 
Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-
Stevens Act).

DATES: Public comments must be received on or before August 22, 2011.

ADDRESSES: A draft EA was prepared for Amendment 3 that describes the 
proposed action and other considered alternatives, and provides a 
thorough analysis of the impacts of the proposed measures and 
alternatives. Copies of Amendment 3, including the draft EA and the 
IRFA, are available on request from Paul J. Howard, Executive Director, 
New England Fishery Management Council (Council), 50 Water Street, 
Newburyport, MA 01950. These documents are also available online at 
http://www.nefmc.org.
    You may submit comments, identified by RIN 0648-BA22, 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: Moira Kelly.
     Mail: Patricia A. Kurkul, Regional Administrator, NMFS, 
Northeast Regional Office, 55 Great Republic Drive, Gloucester, MA 
01930. Mark the outside of the envelope, ``Comments on Red Crab 
Amendment 3.''
    Instructions: All comments received are 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). You may submit attachments to 
electronic comments in Microsoft Word, Excel, WordPerfect, or Adobe PDF 
file formats only.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Moira Kelly, Fishery Policy Analyst, 
(978) 281-9218; fax: (978) 281-9135.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    The Council developed Amendment 3 with the primary goal of bringing 
the FMP into compliance with the requirements of the reauthorized 
Magnuson-Stevens Act. The 2006 reauthorization of the Magnuson-Stevens 
Act contains several new requirements, including the requirement that 
all fisheries adopt ACLs to prevent overfishing, and measures to ensure 
accountability.
    In addition to ACLs and AMs for the red crab fishery, Amendment 3 
also proposes measures intended to respond to changing conditions in 
the fishery and opportunities to improve efficiency and accuracy. 
First, a measure is proposed to replace the days-at-sea (DAS) and a 
target total allowable catch (TAC) management scheme with a total 
allowable landings (TAL) limit. Second, a measure is proposed to 
eliminate the current trip limits for red crab limited access vessels. 
Third, a measure is proposed to modify the existing trap limit 
regulations. The current trap limit regulations state that red crab may 
not be harvested from gear other than a marked red crab trap, no more 
than 600 traps may be used when fishing for red crab, and lobster, red 
crab, or fish may not be harvested from a parlor trap while on a red 
crab DAS. The proposed measure would modify the regulation to prohibit 
more than 600 traps being deployed in water depths greater than 400 m, 
prohibit a limited access red crab vessel from harvesting red crab in 
water depths less than 400 m, and prohibit parlor traps from being 
deployed at water depths less than 400 m. A fourth measure is proposed 
to remove the prohibition of landing more than one standard tote (100 
lb (45.4 kg)) of female red crabs, conditional on a scientific 
recommendation from the Council's Scientific and Statistical Committee. 
Specifications for fishing years 2011-2013 are also proposed.
    Public comments on Amendment 3 and its incorporated documents may 
be submitted through the end of the comment period stated in this 
notice of availability. A proposed rule to implement Amendment 3 will 
be published in the Federal Register for public comment. Public 
comments on the proposed rule must be received by the end of the 
comment period provided in this notice of availability of Amendment 3 
to be considered in the approval/disapproval decision on the amendment. 
All comments received by August 22, 2011, whether specifically directed 
to Amendment 3 or the proposed rule for Amendment 3, will be considered 
in the approval/disapproval decision on Amendment 3. Comments received 
after that date will not be considered in the decision to approve or 
disapprove Amendment 3. To be considered, comments must be received by 
close of business on the last day of the comment period.

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

    Dated: June 17, 2011.
Margo Schulze-Haugen,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2011-15639 Filed 6-21-11; 8:45 am]
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