[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 149 (Friday, August 2, 2013)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 46903-46904]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-18675]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 648
[Docket No. 130711609-3609-01]
RIN 0648-BD38
Control Date for Qualifying Landings History and to Limit
Speculative Entry into the Illex Squid Fishery; Atlantic Mackerel,
Squid and Butterfish Fishery Management Plan
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPR); request for
comments.
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SUMMARY: At the request of the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council,
this notice announces a control date that may be applicable, but not
limited to, qualifying landings history for continued access to the
Illex squid moratorium limited access permit program. NMFS intends this
notice to promote awareness of possible rulemaking, alert interested
parties of potential eligibility criteria for future access, and
discourage speculative entry into and/or investment in the Illex squid
fishery while the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council considers if
and how access to the Illex squid fishery should be controlled.
DATES: August 2, 2013, shall be known as the ``control date'' for the
Illex squid fishery, and may be used as a reference date for future
management measures related to the maintenance of a fishery with
characteristics consistent with the Council's objectives and applicable
Federal laws. Written comments must be received on or before September
3, 2013.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments on this document, identified by
NOAA-NMFS-2013-0107 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-2013-0107, click the ``Comment Now!'' icon,
complete the required fields, and enter or attach your comments.
Mail: Submit written comments to John K. Bullard, Regional
Administrator, National Marine Fisheries Service, 55 Great Republic
Drive, Gloucester, MA 01930. Mark the outside of the envelope,
``Comments on Illex Squid Qualification Control Date.''
Fax: (978) 281-9135; Attn: Aja Szumylo.
Instructions: Comments must be submitted by one of the above
methods to ensure that the comments are received, documented, and
considered by NMFS. We may not consider comments sent by any other
method, to any other address or individual, or received after the end
of the comment period. 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.) submitted voluntarily by the
sender will 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). We accept attachments to electronic comments
only in Microsoft Word or Excel, WordPerfect, or Adobe PDF file
formats.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Aja Szumylo, Fishery Policy Analyst,
978-675-9195, fax 978-281-9135.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Atlantic Mackerel, Squid, and Butterfish
(MSB) Fishery Management Plan (FMP) is managed by the Mid-Atlantic
Fishery Management Council (Council). Illex squid (Illex illecebrosus)
supports important commercial fisheries along the Atlantic coast of the
United States, primarily from New Jersey to Massachusetts, generating
ex-vessel revenues in the $7.5 to $12.5 million range annually in most
years since 1989. Since April 2, 1996, the Council has
[[Page 46904]]
managed Illex squid under a moratorium permit to prevent
overcapitalization of the fleet (65 FR 14465). The Council has
considered additional capacity controls since 2003. On May 20, 2003 (68
FR 27516), NMFS published, at the request of the Council, an ANPR
indicating that the Council intended to consider alternatives to
further control capacity in the longfin and Illex fisheries. (Longfin
squid is not a subject of this notice, though a longfin squid control
date ANPR was recently published on May 16, 2013; 78 FR 28794.)
Accordingly, May 20, 2003, was termed a ``control date,'' and notice
was provided that the control date may be used for establishing
eligibility criteria for determining levels of future access to the
Illex squid, longfin squid, and butterfish fisheries, subject to
Federal authority. On January 8, 2010 (75 FR 1024), NMFS published, at
the request of the Council, a subsequent ANPR reaffirming the May 20,
2003, control date for both longfin and Illex squid fisheries.
In the case of the Illex squid fishery, the Council is currently
concerned with excess and/or latent capacity. Since 2003, approximately
7 to 21 of the 76 Illex squid moratorium-permitted vessels have
accounted for 95 percent of Illex squid landings. Activation of latent
capacity, in conjunction with restrictions in other fisheries, may
create a derby fishery during the period of Illex availability during
the summer and early fall of each year. Therefore, the Council has
expressed a need to examine excess capacity and/or latent capacity in
the limited entry section of this fishery.
At its June 2013 meeting, the Council requested that NMFS also
publish this control date to discourage speculative activation of
previously unused effort or capacity in the Illex squid fishery while
alternative management regimes to control capacity or latent effort are
discussed, possibly developed, and implemented. The control date
communicates to fishermen that performance or fishing effort after the
date of publication may not be treated the same as performance or
effort that was expended before the control date. The Council may
choose to use different qualification criteria that do not incorporate
the new control date. The Council could also choose to develop
alternative qualification criteria based on the May 20, 2003, date and/
or January 8, 2010, reaffirmation date. The Council may also choose to
take no further action to control entry or access to the Illex squid
fishery.
This notification establishes August 2, 2013, as the new control
date for potential use in determining historical or traditional
participation in the Illex squid fishery. Consideration of a control
date does not commit the Council to develop any particular management
regime or criteria for participation in these fisheries. The Council
may choose a different control date; or may choose a management program
that does not make use of such a date. Any action by the Council will
be taken pursuant to the requirements for FMP development established
under the Magnuson-Stevens Act.
This notification also gives the public notice that interested
participants should locate and preserve records that substantiate and
verify their participation in the Illex squid fishery in Federal
waters.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
Dated: July 30, 2013.
Alan D. Risenhoover,
Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, performing the functions and
duties of the Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs,
National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2013-18675 Filed 8-1-13; 8:45 am]
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