[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 230 (Friday, November 29, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 65787-65788]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-25927]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[RTID 0648-XV136]


Atlantic Coastal Fisheries Cooperative Management Act Provisions; 
Atlantic Menhaden Fishery

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

ACTION: Notice of non-compliance referral.

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SUMMARY: NMFS announces that on November 15, 2019, the Secretary of 
Commerce (Secretary) received a letter from the Atlantic States Marine 
Fisheries Commission finding the Commonwealth of Virginia out of 
compliance with Amendment 3 to the Atlantic Menhaden Interstate Fishery 
Management Plan and requesting Federal non-compliance review under the 
provisions of the Atlantic Coastal Fisheries Cooperative Management 
Act. This notice is necessary to alert the public that the Secretary 
has received and is reviewing the referral of non-compliance from the 
Commission. The intended effect of this notice is to inform the public 
of the Commission's

[[Page 65788]]

recommendation to the Secretary and to outline both the decision-making 
process that will be used and potential outcomes of the non-compliance 
review. If the Secretary determines that Virginia failed to carry out 
its responsibilities under the Coastal Atlantic Menhaden Interstate 
Fishery Management Plan, and if the measures it failed to implement are 
necessary for conservation of the fishery, then, according to the 
Atlantic Coastal Fisheries Cooperative Management Act, the Secretary 
must declare a moratorium on fishing for Atlantic menhaden in Virginia 
waters.

DATES: The Secretary intends to make a determination on this matter on 
or about December 17, 2019, and will publish its finding in the Federal 
Register immediately thereafter.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Derek Orner, Fishery Management 
Specialist, (301) 427-8567, [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries 
Commission (Commission) developed Amendment 3 to the Atlantic Menhaden 
Interstate Fishery Management Plan (ISFMP) to pursue the development of 
ecological reference points (which consider the ecological role of 
menhaden in regards to management of the species) and to establish an 
allocation method which provides fair and equitable access to all 
participants in the fishery. Amendment 3 contained a management program 
designed to account for the multiple roles menhaden play, both in 
supporting fisheries and the marine ecosystem. Issues included in 
Amendment 3 included: Reference points; Allocation methods and 
timeframes; Quota transfers and rollovers; Incidental catch; Episodic 
events programs; and Chesapeake Bay total removals. Specifically, the 
Commission required Virginia to implement a total allowable harvest 
from the Chesapeake Bay that would not exceed 51,000 mt. Amendment 3 
was approved in the fall 2017, and was to be fully implemented by the 
Commonwealth of Virginia for the 2018 fishing season. Virginia, 
however, did not implement the Commission's recommended 51,000 mt cap 
and instead maintained its pre-existing 87,216 mt cap. Atlantic 
menhaden in Virginia are managed by the legislature and not the 
Virginia Marine Resources Commission, which manages all other Virginia 
fishery species. The Virginia delegation to the Commission agreed it 
was out of compliance and voted for a non-compliance finding at the 
Commission's Atlantic Menhaden and Policy Boards as well as the 
Commission's Business Section. On October 31, 2019, the Commission 
found the Commonwealth of Virginia out of compliance for not fully and 
effectively implementing and enforcing the Amendment 3 measures. The 
Commission notified the Secretary of its non-compliance finding by 
letter on November 15, 2019.
    Federal response to a Commission non-compliance referral is 
governed by the Atlantic Coastal Fisheries Cooperative Management Act 
(Atlantic Coastal Act). Under the Atlantic Coastal Act, the Secretary 
must make two findings within 30 days after receiving the non-
compliance referral. First, the Secretary must determine whether the 
state in question (in this case, the Commonwealth of Virginia) has 
failed to carry out its responsibilities under the ISFMP. Second, the 
Secretary must determine whether the measures that the State has failed 
to implement or enforce are necessary for the conservation of the 
fishery in question. If the Secretary determines that Virginia has 
failed to carry out its responsibilities under the ISFMP, and if the 
measures it failed to implement are necessary for conservation, then, 
according to the Atlantic Coastal Act, the Secretary must declare a 
moratorium on Atlantic menhaden fishing in Virginia waters. Further, 
the moratorium must become effective within six months of the date of 
the Secretary's non-compliance determination. If Virginia is found out 
of compliance by the Secretary and later implements Amendment 3 
measures, the Atlantic Coastal Act allows the state to petition the 
Commission that it has come back into compliance. If the Commission 
concurs that Virginia has come into compliance, the Commission will 
notify the Secretary. If the Secretary concurs, the moratorium will be 
withdrawn.
    NMFS has notified Virginia, the Commission, and the applicable 
Fishery Management Councils in separate letters, of its receipt of the 
Commission's non-compliance referral. NMFS solicits comments from the 
Commission and Councils to the extent either is interested in providing 
comments on the non-compliance referral. NMFS also indicated to 
Virginia that it is entitled to meet with and present its comments 
directly to NMFS, if so desired.
    The Secretary intends to make its non-compliance determination, 
including supporting rationale, on or about December 17, 2019, which is 
30 days after receipt of the Commission's non-compliance referral. NMFS 
will announce its determination by Federal Register notice immediately 
thereafter. To the extent that the Secretary makes an affirmative non-
compliance finding, NMFS will announce the effective date of the 
moratorium in that Federal Register notice.

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

    Dated: November 25, 2019.
Jennifer M. Wallace,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2019-25927 Filed 11-27-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-22-P