[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 235 (Monday, December 8, 2014)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 72566-72567]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-28625]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 622

[Docket No. 141104927-4927-01]
RIN 0648-BE61


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.

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

SUMMARY: This document announces the establishment of a control date of 
January 1, 2015, that the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council 
(Council) may use if it decides to create additional restrictions 
limiting participation in the individual fishing quota (IFQ) program 
for the grouper and tilefish component of the commercial sector of the 
reef fish fishery in the Gulf of Mexico (Gulf) exclusive economic zone. 
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: Written comments must be received on or before January 7, 2015.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments on the proposed rule identified by 
``NOAA-NMFS-2014-0140'' by any of the following methods:
     Electronic Submission: Submit all electronic public 
comments via the Federal e-Rulemaking Portal. Go to 
www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=NOAA-NMFS-2014-0140, click the 
``Comment Now!'' icon, complete the required fields, and enter or 
attach your comments.
     Mail: Submit written comments to Susan Gerhart, Southeast 
Regional Office, NMFS, 263 13th Avenue South, St. Petersburg, FL 33701.
    Instructions: Comments sent by any other method, to any other 
address or individual, or received after the end of the comment period, 
may not be considered by NMFS. All comments received are a part of the 
public record and will generally be posted for public viewing on 
www.regulations.gov without change. All personal identifying 
information (e.g., name, address, etc.), confidential business 
information, or otherwise sensitive information submitted voluntarily 
by the sender will be publicly accessible. 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, or Adobe PDF file formats only.

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

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The IFQ program for Gulf grouper and 
tilefish species (Gulf Grouper and Tilefish IFQ Program) was 
implemented on January 1, 2010 (74 FR 44732, August 31, 2009). The 
species included in the IFQ program are deep-water groupers (yellowedge 
grouper, misty grouper, warsaw grouper, snowy grouper, speckled hind, 
plus scamp under certain circumstances); red grouper, gag, and other 
shallow-water groupers (black grouper, scamp, yellowfin grouper, rock 
hind, red hind, yellowmouth grouper, plus warsaw grouper and speckled 
hind under certain circumstances); and tilefishes (goldface tilefish, 
blackline tilefish, anchor tilefish, blueline tilefish, and tilefish). 
The program includes a provision that, beginning January 1, 2015, all 
U.S. citizens or permanent resident aliens are eligible to receive 
transfers of grouper and tilefish IFQ shares or allocation. A Gulf 
commercial reef fish permit will still be required to harvest, land, 
and sell grouper and tilefish. This document is to inform current and 
potential participants of the Gulf Grouper and Tilefish IFQ program 
that possession of IFQ shares or allocation after this date may not 
ensure participation under future management of the program. The 
Council could consider options that 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 Grouper and Tilefish 
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.
    Publication of the control date in the Federal Register informs 
participants of the Council's considerations, and gives notice to 
anyone entering the fishery after the control date that they would not 
be assured of future access to the Gulf Grouper and Tilefish IFQ 
Program should management changes be implemented that would restrict 
participation. Implementation of any such changes would require 
preparation of an amendment to the 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 document of November 1, 1989, 54 FR 
46755 (November 7, 1989), the Council has established a total of six 
control dates for various aspects of the reef fish fishery. As stated 
in the documents, they were intended to provide additional notice to 
the public that the Council was considering certain future management 
actions potentially

[[Page 72567]]

restricting public access to fishery resources. The most recent control 
date was a similar control date for the Gulf Red Snapper IFQ program, 
which published on November 30, 2011 (76 FR 74038). This document 
considered a control date of January 1, 2012, and stated that anyone 
entering the program after the control date will not be assured future 
access should a management regime that limits participation in the 
program be prepared and implemented. To date, the Council and NMFS have 
not implemented any management changes to the Gulf Red Snapper IFQ 
Program that utilize this control date. The current document does not 
supersede any of the prior documents, and is intended only to provide 
additional public notice of potential future action being considered 
relative to the Gulf Grouper and Tilefish 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 Gulf Grouper and Tilefish 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 Gulf Grouper and Tilefish 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, 2014.
Samuel D. Rauch III,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2014-28625 Filed 12-5-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P