[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 109 (Friday, June 6, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 32697-32699]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-13236]


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

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RIN 0648-XD325


Caribbean Fishery Management Council; Public Hearings and 
Meetings

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

ACTION: Notice of public hearings and scoping meetings.

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

SUMMARY: The Caribbean Fishery Management Council (Council) will hold 
public hearings to obtain input from fishers, the general public and 
the local agencies representatives on the Draft Comprehensive Amendment 
to the U.S. Caribbean Fishery Management Plans (FMPs): Annual Catch 
Limit Control Rule. Immediately following, the Council will hold 
scoping meetings on the Scoping Document that addresses the Timing of 
Accountability Measure-Based Seasonal Closures in all the U.S. 
Caribbean FMPs. These are separate actions, each of which would amend 
the Council FMPs for the Reef Fish Resources, Corals and Reef 
Associated Plants and Invertebrates, Spiny Lobster, and Queen Conch 
Resources of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

[[Page 32698]]

    Dates and Addresses: The Public Hearings and Scoping Meetings will 
be held on the following dates and locations:
    In Puerto Rico:
    June 23rd, 2014--7 p.m.-10 p.m.--Holiday Inn Ponce & Tropical 
Casino, 3315 Ponce By Pass, Ponce, Puerto Rico.
    June 24th, 2014--7 p.m.-10 p.m.--Doubletree by Hilton San Juan 
Hotel, De Diego Avenue, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
    June 25th, 2014--7 p.m.-10 p.m.--Club N[aacute]utico de Arecibo, 
Rd. 681 Km 1.4, Arecibo, Puerto Rico.
    June 26th, 2014--7 p.m.-10 p.m.--Mayaguez Holiday Inn, 2701 Hostos 
Avenue, Mayaguez, Puerto Rico.
    June 30th, 2014--7 p.m.-10 p.m.--Asociaci[oacute]n de Pescadores 
Unidos de Playa H[uacute]cares de Naguabo, Naguabo, Puerto Rico.
    In the U.S. Virgin Islands:
    June 23rd, 2014--7 p.m.-10 p.m.--Windward Passage Hotel, Charlotte 
Amalie, St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands.
    June 24th, 2014--7 p.m.-10 p.m.--Buccaneer Hotel, Estate Shoys, 
Christiansted, St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Caribbean Fishery Management Council, 
270 Mu[ntilde]oz Rivera Avenue, Suite 401, San Juan, Puerto Rico 00918-
1903, telephone: (787) 766-5926.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Council will first convene the public 
hearing to take comments on the Annual Catch Limit Control Rule. 
Immediately following that public hearing the Council will convene the 
scoping meeting to discuss alternative approaches for establishing 
fishing season closures that are required in response to overages of an 
annual catch limit. Specifically, the Council intends to receive public 
input on the following management actions:

Public Hearing

Draft Comprehensive Amendment to the U.S. Caribbean Fishery Management 
Plans: Annual Catch Limit Control Rule

    Summary: NMFS, in collaboration with the Council, has developed 
this Comprehensive Amendment and its Draft Environmental Assessment to 
establish an ``Annual Catch Limit (ACL) Control Rule'' to adjust the 
current buffer reduction applied to the overfishing limit (OFL), or to 
the acceptable biological catch (ABC) (if specified), to derive the ACL 
for species managed by the Council in Puerto Rico, St. Croix, and St. 
Thomas/St. John Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). The control rule would 
apply a specific buffer reduction based on the current status of the 
fishery management unit (FMU) as determined by NMFS. Establishing this 
control rule would provide the Council and NMFS the flexibility to 
respond quickly to changes in the fishery.
    The alternatives considered in this Comprehensive Amendment address 
the following issue:
    The 2010 Caribbean ACL Amendment (FR 76 82404) and the 2011 
Caribbean ACL Amendment (FR 76 82414), both implemented in 2012, 
established ACLs for all species managed by the Council. Annual catch 
limits for managed species were derived from buffer reductions to their 
respective OFL or ABC to account for scientific and management 
uncertainty. The Council considered the overfishing status of stocks at 
the time of preparation of these amendments when determining how much 
uncertainty (percent reduction) should be applied to the OFL or the ABC 
(if specified) to derive the ACL for each FMU and sector (commercial or 
recreational) within the unit.
    Since the completion of these amendments, the overfishing status of 
several of these FMUs has changed, and it is anticipated that future 
changes in overfishing status will occur. To respond to this situation, 
the Council requested a modification to the regulations to ensure that, 
when the overfishing status of a stock changes, the buffer reduction 
applied to the appropriate management reference point to determine the 
ACL should be changed accordingly. Establishing an ``ACL Control Rule'' 
through this comprehensive amendment would provide for a new and 
straightforward process that would allow for ACL revisions based on 
overfishing status.

Proposed Action and Alternatives

    Action: Establish a control rule to adjust the buffer reduction 
applied to the OFL or to the ABC used to derive the ACL to reflect a 
change in overfishing status of the stock. There are three alternatives 
for this action:
    Alternative 1: No Action. Do not establish a control rule to adjust 
the buffer reduction applied to the OFL or the ABC to determine the ACL 
for all FMUs for which harvest is allowed. The buffer reductions to the 
OFL or the ABC would continue to be those defined in the 2010 and 2011 
Caribbean ACL Amendments.
    Alternative 2: For all FMUs for which harvest is allowed (or where 
applicable), establish an ACL Control Rule where ACL = [OFL (or ABC) x 
(0.85)] for FMUs determined to be subject to overfishing, and where ACL 
= [OFL (or ABC) x (0.90)] for FMUs determined not to be subject to 
overfishing in a specific year.
    Alternative 3 (Preferred): Establish an ACL Control Rule where ACL 
= [OFL (or ABC) x (0.85)] for FMUs determined to be subject to 
overfishing, and where ACL = [OFL (or ABC) x (0.90)] for FMUs 
determined not to be subject to overfishing in a specific year. The ACL 
control rule would apply to FMUs for which harvest is allowed, with the 
exception of the following FMUs, for which buffer reductions to the OFL 
or ABC specified in the 2010 and/or 2011 Caribbean ACL amendment would 
continue to be applied to derive the ACL:
    Sub-alternative 3a (Preferred). Parrotfish FMU--As defined in the 
2010 Caribbean ACL Amendment, ACL = [ABC x (0.85)]. An additional 
5.8822% reduction to the ACL of the parrotfish FMU would continue to be 
applied in the St. Croix management area to further reduce harvest from 
this direct fishery in recognition of the ecological role of parrotfish 
as herbivores. Sub-alternative 3b (Preferred). Surgeonfish FMU--As 
defined in the 2011 Caribbean ACL Amendment, ACL = [ABC x (0.75)] to 
reflect the ecological role of surgeonfish as herbivores in coral 
reefs.
    Sub-alternative 3c (Preferred). Angelfish FMU--As defined in the 
2011 Caribbean ACL Amendment, ACL = [ABC x (0.75)] to reflect the 
ecological role of angelfish as spongivores in coral reefs. Sub-
alternative 3d (Preferred). Queen conch FMU--As defined in the 2010 
Caribbean ACL Amendment, for St. Croix, ACL = ABC specified by the 
Caribbean Fishery Management Council's Scientific and Statistical 
Committee. For Puerto Rico and St. Thomas/St. John, ACL = 0. Sub-
alternative 3e (Preferred). Aquarium trade species FMU--As defined in 
the 2011 Caribbean ACL Amendment, ACL = [ABC x (0.75)] for aquarium 
trade species in the Corals and Reef Associated Plants and 
Invertebrates FMP and in the Reef Fish FMP.

Scoping Meeting

Scoping Document To Address the Timing of Accountability Measure-Based 
Seasonal Closures in All U.S. Caribbean Fishery Management Plans

    Summary: In U.S. Caribbean federal waters, accountability measures 
(AMs) require NMFS' Assistant Administrator to shorten the length of 
the fishing season if it has been determined that prior year(s) 
landings exceeded the ACL for an FMU. The fishing season would be 
shortened in the year following an overage determination by the amount 
necessary to constrain landings to the ACL. These AM-based reductions 
in the length of the fishing season, for any

[[Page 32699]]

FMU for which the ACL has been exceeded, are implemented beginning on 
December 31st of the appropriate year and extending backwards in the 
year for the number of days necessary to achieve the required reduction 
in landings. Fishers have expressed to the Council that the timing of 
these closures results in negative socio-economic impacts. To address 
this issue, the Council is proposing to develop a mechanism that allows 
them and NMFS to establish closure dates other than the standard end of 
the year closures in the event of an overage of the ACL for a specific 
group of species. There are several approaches that the Council could 
consider to evaluate and eventually establish a mechanism to guide the 
selection of AM-based seasonal closures:
Default AM-Closure Date--No Action
    Accountability measure-based closures would continue to be 
implemented beginning on December 31st of the appropriate year and 
extending backwards in the year for the number of days necessary to 
achieve the required reduction in landings.
``Customized'' Approach/Mechanism
    Change the default AM-closure date (closures start from December 
31st going backwards). This procedure to set the timing of the closures 
would consist of performing an analysis every year for those units that 
exceeded the ACL over the average of a chosen number of years, and 
choosing the best date to close the season for the next year based on 
that specific analysis.
``Upfront'' Timing Approach (Pre-Determined AM-Based Closure Dates)
    This approach would also change the default AM-closure date but in 
a different way than the ``Customized'' Process/Mechanism. This 
approach would consist of a one-time pre-determination and 
establishment of closure dates (e.g., start or end date) for all 
Council FMUs (or alternatively apply the analysis to a selected group 
of FMUs) and implement through rulemaking. The start or end date would 
not have to be the same for each FMU.
    The goal of this Scoping Hearing is to allow the public to comment 
on the options listed above and to provide alternative options not yet 
considered by the Council and NMFS, considering the goals of remaining 
within the ACL and lessening the socio-economic impact of AMs.
    Written comments can be sent to the Council not later than July 
25th, 2013, by regular mail to the address below, or via email to 
[email protected].

Special Accommodations

    These meetings are physically accessible to people with 
disabilities. For more information or request for sign language 
interpretation and other auxiliary aids, please contact Mr. Miguel A. 
Rol[oacute]n, Executive Director, Caribbean Fishery Management Council, 
270 Mu[ntilde]oz Rivera Avenue, Suite 401, San Juan, Puerto Rico, 
00918-1903, telephone: (787) 766-5926, at least 5 days prior to the 
meeting date.

    Dated: June 3, 2014.
Tracey L. Thompson,
Acting Deputy Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National 
Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2014-13236 Filed 6-5-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P