[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 99 (Monday, May 23, 2011)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 29717-29718]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-12665]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 648
RIN 0648-BA23
Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act
Provisions; Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Annual Catch
Limits and Accountability Measures
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Availability of proposed fishery management plan amendments;
request for comments.
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SUMMARY: NMFS announces that the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management
Council (Council) has submitted an omnibus amendment containing the
following amendments to implement annual catch limits (ACLs) and
accountability measures (AMs) for Council managed resources: Amendment
13 to the Atlantic Mackerel, Squids, and Butterfish FMP; Amendment 3 to
the Atlantic Bluefish FMP; Amendment 2 to the Spiny Dogfish FMP;
Amendment 15 to the Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass FMP;
Amendment 16 to the Surfclam and Ocean Quahog FMP, and Amendment 3 to
the Tilefish FMP. These amendments, hereafter referred to as the
Omnibus Amendment, have been submitted for review by the Secretary of
Commerce (Secretary) for conformance with the FMPs, FMP amendments, the
Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-
Stevens Act), and other applicable laws. In turn, as part of the
Secretarial review process, NMFS is requesting comments on the Omnibus
Amendment from the public.
DATES: Comments must be received on or before July 22, 2011.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by RIN 0648-BA23, by any
one of the following methods:
Electronic Submissions: Submit all electronic public
comments via the Federal eRulemaking Portal http://www.regulations.gov.
Fax: (978) 281-9135.
Mail and hand delivery: Patricia A. Kurkul, Regional
Administrator, NMFS, Northeast Regional Office, 55 Great Republic
Drive, Gloucester, MA 01930. Mark the outside of the envelope: Comments
on Mid-Atlantic ACL/AM Omnibus Amendment.
Instructions: All comments received are a part of the public record
and will generally be posted to http://www.regulations.gov without
change. All Personal Identifying Information (for example, name,
address, etc.) voluntarily submitted by the commenter may be publicly
accessible. Do not submit Confidential Business Information or
otherwise sensitive or protected information.
NMFS will accept anonymous comments (enter N/A in the required
fields, if you wish to remain anonymous). You may submit attachments to
electronic comments in Microsoft Word, Excel, WordPerfect, or Adobe PDF
file formats only.
Copies of the draft Omnibus Amendment document, including the
Environmental Assessment and Regulatory Impact Review (EA/RIR) and
other supporting documents for the Omnibus Amendment are available from
Dr. Christopher M. Moore, Executive Director, Mid-Atlantic Fishery
Management Council, Suite 201, 800 North State Street, Dover, DE 19901.
The draft Omnibus Amendment, as submitted to NMFS by the Council, is
also accessible via the Internet at http://www.nero.noaa.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Michael Ruccio, Fishery Policy
Analyst, (978) 281-9104.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Magnuson-Stevens Act requires that each
Regional Fishery Management Council submit any FMP amendment it
prepares to NMFS for review and approval, disapproval, or partial
approval. The Magnuson-Stevens Act also requires that NMFS, upon
receiving an FMP amendment, publish a notice in the Federal Register
that the amendment is available for public review and comment.
Background
The Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management
Reauthorization Act of 2006 (MSRA) amended the Magnuson-Stevens Act to
include new requirements for ACLs and AMs and the formal incorporation
of scientific advice provided to Regional Fishery Management Councils
from their respective Scientific and Statistical Committees (SSCs).
The Council conducted public scoping and development of the Omnibus
Amendment in 2009 and 2010. The development process included several
meetings of the full Council, joint meetings with the Council and
Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, the Council's SSC and its
scientific uncertainty subcommittee, the Omnibus Amendment Fishery
Management Action Team, and public hearings. Now, the Council has
submitted the Omnibus Amendment for Secretarial review, approval as
needed, and implementation. The Omnibus Amendment is necessary to bring
all Council FMPs into compliance with the requirements of the Magnuson-
Stevens Act. The intent is to establish a comprehensive framework for
all Council FMPs to more formally receive and utilize scientific
recommendations in the establishment of annual catch levels, to
establish a system to derive ACLs with AM backstops from that
scientific advice, and to establish processes for revisiting and
modifying the measures that would be established by the respective FMP
amendments so that overfishing is prevented, stocks are rebuilt, and
Optimum Yield (OY) may be achieved for all managed stocks.
[[Page 29718]]
If approved by NMFS, this amendment would establish Acceptable
Biological Catch (ABC) control rules for use by the Council's SSC in
recommending ABC to the Council; a risk policy for use in conjunction
with the ABC control rules to inform the SSC of the Council's preferred
tolerance for the risk of overfishing a stock; ACLs for all Council-
managed stocks except Loligo and Illex squids, which are exempt from
the ACL/AM requirements due to annual life cycles; comprehensive AMs
for all established ACLs; descriptions of the process to review ACL and
AM performance; and establishment of processes to modify the measures
to be implemented through the Omnibus Amendment.
Public comments are being solicited on the Council's Omnibus
Amendment and its incorporated documents through the end of the comment
period stated in this notice of availability. A proposed rule that
would implement the Omnibus Amendment's measures if approved, will be
published in the Federal Register for public comment, following NMFS's
evaluation of the proposed rule under the procedures of the Magnuson-
Stevens Act. Public comments on the proposed rule must be received by
the end of the comment period provided in this notice of availability
of the Omnibus Amendment to be considered in the approval/disapproval
decision on the amendment. All comments received by July 22, 2011,
whether specifically directed to the Omnibus Amendment or the proposed
rule, will be considered by NMFS in the approval/disapproval decision
on the Omnibus Amendment. In reviewing, approving, and implementing
Council-recommended amendment actions, NMFS is constrained to approval,
disapproval, or partial approval only.
Comments received after the specified date will not be considered
in the decision to approve, partially approve, or disapprove the
Omnibus Amendment. To be considered, comments must be received by close
of business on the last day of the comment period; that does not mean
postmarked or otherwise transmitted by that date.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
Dated: May 17, 2011,
Margo Schulze-Haugen,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2011-12665 Filed 5-23-11; 8:45 am]
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