[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 202 (Friday, October 18, 2019)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 55900-55901]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-22780]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 622

[Docket No. 191011-0061]
RIN 0648-BJ01


Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and South Atlantic; 
Spiny Lobster Trap Fishery of the U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI); Control 
Date

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

ACTION: Advance notice of proposed rulemaking; consideration of a 
control date.

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SUMMARY: This notice announces the establishment of a control date of 
September 1, 2017, that the Caribbean Fishery Management Council 
(Council) may use if it decides to create restrictions limiting 
participation in the spiny lobster trap fishery in the exclusive 
economic zone (EEZ) off St. Thomas and St. John, or St. Croix, U.S. 
Virgin Islands (USVI). Persons entering the fishery in either area 
after the control date will not be assured of future access should a 
management regime that limits participation in the fishery be prepared 
and implemented. NMFS invites comments on the establishment of this 
control date.

[[Page 55901]]


DATES: Written comments must be received by November 18, 2019.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments identified by ``NOAA-NMFS-2019-
0070'' by either 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-2019-0070, click the 
``Comment Now!'' icon, complete the required fields, and enter or 
attach your comments.
     Mail: Submit written comments to Sarah Stephenson, NMFS 
Southeast Regional Office, 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).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sarah Stephenson, NMFS Southeast 
Regional Office, telephone: 727-824-5305, or email: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The spiny lobster trap fishery is managed 
under the Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for the Spiny Lobster Fishery 
of Puerto Rico and the USVI. However, NMFS notes that the Council is in 
the process of transitioning Federal fisheries management in the U.S. 
Caribbean from four species-based FMPs for Puerto Rico and the USVI to 
three island-based FMPs (Puerto Rico FMP, St. Thomas and St. John FMP, 
and St. Croix FMP). The island-based FMPs would manage multiple 
species, including spiny lobster, within the EEZ defined for each 
island management area (appendix E to part 622).
    Currently in the U.S. Caribbean, which includes Puerto Rico and the 
USVI, there is no Federal permit for the spiny lobster trap fishery. 
However, the territorial governments of Puerto Rico, St. Thomas and St. 
John, and St. Croix issue commercial fishing licenses for their 
territorial waters.
    At their August 2018 meeting, the Council recommended a control 
date of September 1, 2017, for the spiny lobster trap fishery off the 
USVI. The control date would apply to persons who have entered or are 
contemplating entering this fishery after September 1, 2017. The 
control date would be applicable under the current FMP and it is the 
Council's intent that is would also be applicable under the island-
based FMPs, if approved.
    Previously, the Council established a control date of February 10, 
2011 (78 FR 20496, April 5, 2013), for the commercial spiny lobster 
trap fishery in the U.S. Caribbean operating in Federal waters off 
Puerto Rico and the USVI. At their August 2018 meeting, the Council 
discussed modifying the previous control date for the spiny lobster 
trap fishery off the USVI to address more recent concerns presented at 
that meeting by spiny lobster trap fishermen and the USVI government. 
Specifically, with the planned implementation of the island-based FMPs, 
potential increases in annual catch limits for spiny lobster in the EEZ 
off the USVI could increase fishing effort that would affect the 
fishery, which historically has been small-scale and market-driven. 
Both spiny lobster trap fishermen and the USVI government were 
concerned that, in the future, new participants may establish large-
scale operations for harvesting spiny lobster that would impact the 
ecosystem (i.e., more traps deployed), historical participants, and 
fishing communities.
    In order to preserve and protect the economically and culturally 
important spiny lobster trap fishery in the USVI, the Council decided 
to update the previous control date of February 10, 2011, and establish 
a September 1, 2017, control date for the spiny lobster trap fishery 
around the USVI. The Council selected September 1, 2017, as the control 
date because, soon thereafter, Hurricanes Maria and Irma severely 
curtailed fishing activities in the USVI. Therefore, the Council 
determined the period prior to September 1, 2017, best represents 
historic participation in the spiny lobster trap fishery in the USVI. 
The control date enables the Council to inform current and potential 
participants that it may consider creating restrictions to limit 
participation or other measures in the spiny lobster trap fishery 
around St. Thomas and St. John, or St. Croix, USVI.
    The Council requested that this control date be published in the 
Federal Register to notify fishermen that if they entered the fishery 
after September 1, 2017, they may not be assured of future access if 
the Council or NMFS decide to limit entry or impose other measures to 
manage the spiny lobster trap fishery around St. Thomas and St. John, 
or St. Croix, USVI.
    Establishment of this control date does not commit the Council or 
NMFS to any particular management regime or criteria for entry into the 
spiny lobster trap fishery around St. Thomas and St. John, or St. 
Croix, USVI. Fishermen are not guaranteed future participation in the 
trap fishery regardless of their level of participation before or after 
the control date. The Council may recommend a different control date or 
it may recommend a management regime that does not involve a control 
date. Other criteria, such as documentation of landings or fishing 
effort, may be used to determine eligibility for participation in a 
limited access fishery. The Council or NMFS also may choose to take no 
further action to control entry or access to the fishery, in which case 
the control date may be rescinded. Any action by the Council will be 
taken pursuant to the requirements for fishery management plan and 
amendment development established under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 
Conservation and Management Act.
    This notification also gives the public notice that interested 
participants should locate and preserve records that substantiate and 
verify their participation in the spiny lobster trap fishery in the EEZ 
off St. Thomas and St. John, and St. Croix, USVI.

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

    Dated: October 15, 2019.
Samuel D. Rauch, III,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2019-22780 Filed 10-17-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-22-P