[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 171 (Friday, September 2, 2016)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 60666-60668]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-21193]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 648

RIN 0648-BG21


Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act 
Provisions; Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Atlantic 
Mackerel, Squid, and Butterfish Fisheries; Amendment 16

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

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

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SUMMARY: NMFS announces that the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management 
Council has submitted Amendment 16 to the Atlantic Mackerel, Squid, and 
Butterfish Fishery Management Plan,

[[Page 60667]]

incorporating the Environmental Assessment and the Initial Regulatory 
Flexibility Analysis, for review by the Secretary of Commerce, and is 
requesting comments from the public. Amendment 16 would establish a 
deep-sea coral protection area in Mid-Atlantic waters where fishing 
vessels would be prohibited from using most fishing gear that contacts 
the ocean bottom. The Council developed Amendment 16 to protect deep-
sea corals under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and 
Management Act's discretionary provision for deep-sea coral protection. 
The coral protection measures would prevent expansion of fisheries 
using ocean bottom-tending fishing gear in areas where there is a high 
likelihood of deep-sea coral presence and would prevent damage to deep-
sea corals in areas where they been observed.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before November 1, 2016.

ADDRESSES: The Council prepared an environmental assessment (EA) for 
Amendment 16 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 16, including 
the EA, the Regulatory Impact Review (RIR), and the Initial Regulatory 
Flexibility Analysis (IRFA), are available from: Christopher Moore, 
Executive Director, Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council, Suite 201, 
800 State Street, Dover, DE 19901. The EA/RIR/IRFA are accessible 
online at http://www.greateratlantic.fisheries.noaa.gov/.
    You may submit comments on this document, identified by NOAA-NMFS-
2016-0086, 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-2016-0086, click the 
``Comment Now!'' icon, complete the required fields, and enter or 
attach your comments.
     Mail: John K. Bullard, Regional Administrator, NMFS, 
Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office, 55 Great Republic Drive, 
Gloucester, MA 01930. Mark the outside of the envelope, ``Comments on 
MSB Amendment 16 NOA.''
    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).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Peter Christopher, Fishery Policy 
Analyst, 978-281-9288; fax 978-281-9135.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background

    On January 16, 2013, the Council published a Notice of Intent (NOI) 
to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (78 FR 3401) for Amendment 
16 to the Atlantic Mackerel, Squid, and Butterfish Fishery Management 
Plan (FMP) to consider measures to protect deep-sea corals from the 
impacts of commercial fishing gear in the Mid-Atlantic. The Council 
conducted scoping meetings during February 2013 to gather public 
comments on these issues. Following further development of Amendment 16 
through 2013 and 2014, the Council conducted public hearings in January 
2015. Following these public hearings, and with disagreement about the 
boundaries of the various alternatives, the Council held a workshop 
with various stakeholders on April 29-30, 2015, to further refine the 
deep-sea coral area boundaries. The workshop was an example of 
effective collaboration among fishery managers, the fishing industry, 
environmental organizations, and the public to develop management 
recommendations with widespread support. The Council adopted Amendment 
16 on June 10, 2015. The Council submitted Amendment 16 on August 15, 
2016, for final review by NMFS, acting on behalf of the Secretary of 
Commerce. The Council developed the action, and the measures described 
in this notice, under the discretionary provisions for deep-sea coral 
protection in section 303(b) of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Act. This 
provision gives the Regional Fishery Management Councils the authority 
to:
     Designate zones where, and periods when, fishing shall be 
limited, or shall not be permitted, or shall be permitted only by 
specified types of fishing vessels or with specified types and 
quantities of fishing gear;
     Designate such zones in areas where deep-sea corals are 
identified under section 408 (this section describes the deep-sea coral 
research and technology program), to protect deep-sea corals from 
physical damage from fishing gear or to prevent loss or damage to such 
fishing gear from interactions with deep-sea corals, after considering 
long-term sustainable uses of fishery resources in such areas; and
     With respect to any closure of an area under the Magnuson-
Stevens Act that prohibits all fishing, ensure that such closure
    o Is based on the best scientific information available;
    [cir] Includes criteria to assess the conservation benefit of the 
closed area;
    [cir] Establishes a timetable for review of the closed area's 
performance that is consistent with the purposes of the closed area; 
and
    [cir] Is based on an assessment of the benefits and impacts of the 
closure, including its size, in relation to other management measures 
(either alone or in combination with such measures), including the 
benefits and impacts of limiting access to: Users of the area, overall 
fishing activity, fishery science, and fishery and marine conservation.
    Consistent with these provisions, the Council proposed the measures 
in Amendment 16 to balance the impacts of measures implemented under 
this discretionary authority with the management objectives of the 
Mackerel, Squid, and Butterfish FMP and the value of potentially 
affected commercial fisheries. Measures recommended by the Council 
would:
     Establish a deep-sea coral protection area that would be 
in Mid-Atlantic waters only. It would consist of a broad zone that 
would start at a depth contour of approximately 450 meters (m) and 
extend to the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone boundary, and to the north 
and south to the boundaries of the Mid-Atlantic waters (as defined in 
the Magnuson-Stevens Act). In addition, the deep-sea coral protection 
area would include 15 discrete zones that outline deep-sea canyons on 
the continental shelf in Mid-Atlantic waters. The deep-sea coral area, 
including both broad and discrete zones, would be one continuous area.
     Restrict the use of bottom-tending commercial fishing gear 
within the designated deep-sea coral area, including bottom-tending 
otter trawls; bottom-tending beam trawls; hydraulic dredges; non-
hydraulic dredges; bottom-tending seines; bottom-tending longlines; 
sink or anchored gill nets; and pots and traps except those used to 
fish for red crab and American lobster;
     Require the use of vessel monitoring systems for Illex 
squid moratorium permit holders to facilitate

[[Page 60668]]

enforcement of the deep-sea coral area and gear restrictions;
     Allow vessels to transit the deep-sea coral area 
protection area provided the vessels bring bottom-tending fishing gear 
onboard the vessel, and reel bottom-tending trawl gear onto the net 
reel; and
     Expand framework adjustment provisions in the FMP for 
future modifications to the deep-sea coral protection measures.
    The Council recommended that the deep-sea coral protection area 
should be named in honor of the late Senator Frank R. Lautenberg. 
Senator Lautenberg was responsible for several important pieces of 
ocean conservation legislation and authored several provisions included 
in the reauthorized Magnuson-Stevens Act, including the discretionary 
provision for coral. Therefore, the Council proposed that the combined 
broad and discrete zones be officially known as the ``Frank R. 
Lautenberg Deep-Sea Coral Protection Area.''
    The proposed geographic range and gear restrictions in this action 
overlap with several fisheries outside the Atlantic Mackerel, Squid, 
and Butterfish FMP and could potentially affect any federally permitted 
vessel intending to fish within the proposed deep-sea coral area. 
However, during the initiation and scoping of this action, the Council 
determined that this action would not apply to the American lobster 
fishery. Therefore, this action would not restrict the use of lobster 
pots in the proposed deep-sea coral area. Deep-sea red crab pots and 
traps would also be allowed in the deep-sea coral zone under the 
proposed action. The Council proposed the exemption for this gear 
because red crab fishing occurs entirely within the deep-sea coral 
protection zone. Prohibiting the gear in the area would eliminate a 
large portion of the red crab fishery, with likely disproportional 
negative impacts on the red crab fishery relative to other fisheries.
    Through this document, NMFS seeks comments on Amendment 16 and its 
incorporated documents through the end of the comment period stated in 
the DATES section of this notice of availability (NOA). Following 
NMFS's review of the amendment under the Magnuson-Stevens Act 
procedures, a rule proposing the implementation of measures in 
Amendment 16 is anticipated to be published in the Federal Register for 
public comment. Public comments must be received by the end of the 
comment period provided in this NOA of Amendment 16 to be considered in 
the approval/disapproval decision on the amendment. All comments 
received by the end of the comment period on the NOA of Amendment 16, 
whether specifically directed to the NOA or the proposed rule, will be 
considered in the approval/disapproval decision. Comments received 
after the end of the comment period for the NOA will not be considered 
in the approval/disapproval decision of Amendment 16.

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

    Dated: August 30, 2016.
 Emily H. Menashes,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2016-21193 Filed 9-1-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-22-P