[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 148 (Friday, August 1, 2014)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Page 44737]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-18094]
[[Page 44737]]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 648
[Docket No. 140616510-4510-01]
RIN 0648-BE33
Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Summer Flounder
Fishery; Notice of a Control Date for the Purpose of Limiting Entry to
the Summer Flounder Fishery; Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass
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 used to limit the
number of participants in the commercial summer flounder fishery. The
control date is intended to help the Council to identify latent effort
in the summer flounder fishery. 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 summer flounder fishery while the
Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council and NMFS consider if and how
participation in the summer flounder fishery should be controlled. We
are soliciting comments on this action.
DATES: August 1, 2014 shall be known as the ``control date'' for the
summer flounder 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
2, 2014.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments on this document, identified by
NOAA-NMFS-2014-0074 by any of the following methods:
[ssquf] Electronic Submission: Submit all electronic public
comments via the Federal e-Rulemaking Portal. Go to
www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=NOAA-NMFS-2014-0074, click the
``Comment Now!'' icon, complete the required fields, and enter or
attach your comments.
[ssquf] 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 Summer Flounder Control Date.''
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: Carly Bari, Fishery Management
Specialist, 978-281-9224.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In 1988, NMFS implemented the Summer
Flounder Fishery Management Plan (FMP) to manage summer flounder
following a decline in summer flounder abundance. Regulations for the
summer flounder fishery are found at 50 CFR part 648, subpart G. The
summer flounder fishery is composed of a limited access commercial
fishery and an open access recreational fishery. A previous control
date for the summer flounder fishery was established on January 26,
1990, shortly after the implementation of the FMP, and in anticipation
of management measures implemented as part of Amendment 2 to the FMP.
Amendment 2 included implementation of a moratorium on new permits and
quotas for the summer flounder fishery.
On June 16, 2014, the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council
requested that NMFS publish this control date for the summer flounder
fishery. This new control date would apply to participants in the
commercial summer flounder fishery. The owner or operator of a vessel
that landed any summer flounder between January 26, 1985, and January
26, 1990, was able to qualify for a Federal limited access summer
flounder permit under Amendment 2. Because of the broad initial
requirements of the commercial moratorium permit, the Council is
concerned that there is latent effort in the commercial summer flounder
fishery. This Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking is intended to help
the Council determine more accurate information on effort in the summer
flounder fishery while the Council prepares for future amendments to
the FMP. The date upon which this notice is published shall be known as
the ``control date,'' which is intended to distinguish established
participation from latent or speculative effort in the fishery.
This notification establishes August 1, 2014, as the new control
date for potential use in determining historical or traditional
participation in the summer flounder fishery. Establishing a control
date does not commit the Council or NMFS to develop any particular
management regime or criteria for participation in this fishery. In the
future, the Council may choose a different control date, or a
management program that does not make use of any control date. Any
future action by NMFS will be taken pursuant to the Magnuson-Stevens
Fishery Conservation and Management Act. NMFS is soliciting comment on
the control date, latent effort and limiting accessing in the summer
flounder fishery.
This notification also gives the public notice that interested
participants should locate and preserve records that substantiate and
verify their participation in the summer flounder fishery.
This notification and control date do not impose any legal
obligations, requirements, or expectations.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
Dated: July 28, 2014.
Samuel D. Rauch III,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2014-18094 Filed 7-31-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P