[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 230 (Wednesday, November 30, 2011)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Page 74038]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-30854]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 622

[Docket No. 111102663-1682-01]
RIN 0648-BB60


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

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

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

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SUMMARY: This notice announces that the Gulf of Mexico Fishery 
Management Council (Council) is considering creating additional 
restrictions limiting participation in the Red Snapper Individual 
Fishing Quota (IFQ) Program. If such management measures are 
implemented, the Council is considering January 1, 2012, as a possible 
control date. Anyone entering the program after the control date will 
not be assured of future access should a management regime that limits 
participation in the program be prepared and implemented. NMFS invites 
comments on the establishment of this control date.

DATES: Comments must be submitted by December 30, 2011.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments on the proposed rule identified by 
``NOAA-NMFS-2011-0273'' by any of the following methods:
     Electronic submissions: Submit electronic comments via the 
Federal e-Rulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the 
instructions for submitting comments.
     Mail: Susan Gerhart, 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.
    To submit comments through the Federal e-Rulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov, click on ``submit a comment,'' then enter ``NOAA-
NMFS-2011-0273'' in the keyword search and click on ``search''. To view 
posted comments during the comment period, enter ``NOAA-NMFS-2011-
0273'' in the keyword search and click on ``search''. NMFS will accept 
anonymous comments (enter N/A in the required field if you wish to 
remain anonymous). You may submit attachments to electronic comments in 
Microsoft Word, Excel, WordPerfect, or Adobe PDF file formats only.
    Comments received through means not specified in this rule will not 
be considered.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Susan Gerhart, telephone: (727) 824-
5305, or email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Beginning January 1, 2012, all U.S. citizens 
or permanent resident aliens are eligible to receive transfers of Red 
Snapper IFQ shares or allocation. A Gulf of Mexico (Gulf) commercial 
reef fish permit will still be required to harvest, land, and sell red 
snapper. This notice is to inform current and potential participants of 
the Gulf Red Snapper IFQ Program that possession of IFQ shares or 
allocation after this date may not ensure participation under future 
management of the program. The Council is considering a provision to 
require shareholders to ``use'', as defined by the provision, all or 
some portion of their allocation, or be subject to losing their shares. 
Other options include re-establishing a requirement to possess a Gulf 
commercial reef fish permit to receive shares or allocation under the 
program. If the Council prepares an amendment to the Fishery Management 
Plan (FMP) for Reef Fish Resources in the Gulf to restrict 
participation in the Gulf Red Snapper IFQ Program in relation to this 
control date, an analysis of the specific biological, economic, and 
social effects of the action will be prepared at that time. Those 
analyses would be contained in that subsequent amendment to the FMP and 
would be made available to the public at that time.
    Publication of the control dates 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 respective FMP and publication of a notice of 
availability and proposed rule in the Federal Register with pertinent 
public comment periods.
    Since the first control date notice of November 1, 1989, 54 FR 
46755 (November 7, 1989), the Council has established a total of five 
control dates for various aspects of the Gulf of Mexico reef fish 
fishery. As stated in the accompanying notices, they were intended to 
provide additional notice to the public that the Council was 
considering certain future management actions potentially restricting 
public access to fishery resources. The most recent control date was 
December 31, 2008, 74 FR 11517 (March 19, 2008), which related to 
potential future actions to address overcapacity in the commercial 
sector of the reef fish fishery. The current notice does not supersede 
any of the prior notices, and is intended only to provide additional 
public notice of potential future action being considered relative to 
the red snapper IFQ program.
    The establishment of a control date does not commit the Council or 
NMFS to any particular management regime. The Council may or may not 
make use of this control date as part of the requirements for 
participation in the IFQ Program. Fishermen are not guaranteed future 
participation in the program, regardless of their entry date. The 
Council may take action that would affect participants who were in the 
program prior to the control date or the Council may choose to take no 
further action to control entry or access to the IFQ program.
    This notification also gives the public notice that interested 
participants should locate and preserve records that substantiate and 
verify their participation in the Gulf reef fish fishery.

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

    Dated: November 25, 2011.
Patricia A. Montanio,
Acting Deputy Assistant Administrator for Operations, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2011-30854 Filed 11-29-11; 8:45 am]
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