[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 85 (Monday, May 4, 1998)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 24522-24523]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-11777]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 622
[I.D. 121197E]
RIN 0648-AJ16
Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and South Atlantic;
Reef Fish Fishery of the Gulf of Mexico; Resubmission of Disapproved
and Revised Measure in Amendment 11
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Notice of agency decision.
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SUMMARY: NMFS announces the disapproval of a revised, previously
disapproved measure submitted by the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management
Council (Council) and originally contained in Amendment 11 to the
Fishery Management Plan for the Reef Fish Resources of the Gulf of
Mexico (FMP). The measure would have redefined optimum yield (OY) for
that FMP.
ADDRESSES: Requests for copies of the documents supporting the
disapproval decision should be mailed to the Southeast Regional Office,
NMFS, 9721 Executive Center Drive N., St. Petersburg, FL 33702.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Robert Sadler, 813-570-5305.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation
and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act) requires each regional
fishery management council to submit any fishery management plan or
amendment to NMFS for review and approval, disapproval, or partial
approval. The Magnuson-Stevens Act also requires that NMFS, upon
receiving an amendment, immediately publish a document in the Federal
Register stating that the amendment is available for public review and
comment.
On December 31, 1997, NMFS published a notice of availability (NOA)
of a revised, previously disapproved measure originally in Amendment
11, and requested comments (62 FR 68246). The revised definition would
have
[[Page 24523]]
initially set OY for each reef fish stock managed under the FMP at a
yield level that would result in at least a 30-percent spawning
potential ratio (SPR) for that stock. This measure would have allowed
the Council to propose setting OY for these species based on a more
conservative (higher) SPR level if the Reef Fish Stock Assessment Panel
indicates that appropriate biological information supports such action.
Additional background, the Council's rationale for the revised measure
in the amendment, and NMFS' concerns about inconsistency with national
standards 1 and 2 of the Magnuson-Stevens Act are contained in the NOA.
On April 3, 1998, after considering the public comment received on
the revised measure, NMFS disapproved the revised measure based on
concerns expressed in the NOA and summarized here.
Comments and Responses
One public comment on the revised measure was received.
Comment: A recreational fishing association opposed an OY
definition of 40-percent SPR for reef fish because it would be
inconsistent with the Magnuson-Stevens Act and not based on the best
available scientific information. The commenter did not provide any
rationale in support of this position or address the concerns raised by
NMFS.
Response: NMFS disagrees with this comment because the best
available scientific information indicates that for some species an OY
definition based on a 40-percent SPR would be necessary to prevent
overfishing. As a result, such a definition would be necessary for the
FMP to be consistent with the Magnuson-Stevens Act. NMFS' reasons for
disapproving the revised OY definition further explain why NMFS
disagrees with this public comment.
NMFS' Reasons for Disapproving the Revised Measure
Comments from the Southeast Fisheries Science Center (SEFSC)
indicate that OY should be defined at a more biologically conservative
level than 30-percent SPR for species for which biological information
is presently unavailable and for those species that may be especially
vulnerable to overfishing because they change sex and are believed to
be less resilient as they mature. The SEFSC recommended that OY be
defined as a fishing mortality rate that allows a 40-percent SPR for
these 15 species: red porgy (removed from the FMP under Amendment 15 to
provide for management by Florida), rock hind, speckled hind,
yellowedge grouper, red hind, jewfish, red grouper, misty grouper,
warsaw grouper, snowy grouper, Nassau grouper, yellowmouth grouper,
gag, scamp, and yellowfin grouper. Jewfish and Nassau grouper are
overfished species.
The SEFSC concluded that the 30-percent OY is inappropriate for the
15 listed species. Specifically, an OY definition based on a 30-percent
SPR does not address the fact that some species change sex from female
to male, which reduces egg production and is believed to make the
population less resilient to fishing and environmental factors that
reduce reproductive success. Use of a 30-percent SPR to define OY for
such species not only would fail to incorporate the best available
scientific information for the sex-changing species, but also would put
them at risk of overfishing.
For the species listed above for which biological information is
currently unavailable, the definition of OY based on a 30-percent SPR
is inconsistent with NMFS' policy of employing a precautionary approach
to fishery management. An OY definition based on a 40-percent SPR for
species for which biological information is presently unavailable is
more appropriate than one based on a 30-percent SPR, because an OY
based on 30-percent SPR could produce a fishing mortality rate that
exceeds maximum sustainable yield (MSY) and result in overfishing. It
has been shown over a wide range of stock-recruitment parameter
combinations that an OY based on a 40-percent SPR has a relatively low
risk of producing a fishing mortality rate that would exceed MSY and
result in overfishing. The Magnuson-Stevens Act requires that OY be no
higher than MSY. For these reasons, NMFS has determined that approval
of the resubmitted measure would risk overfishing of these species.
Public comments on the SEFSC's concerns were specifically invited
in the NOA. The public comment did not address the SEFSC's concerns or
provide a basis for approval of the revised measure. Following
consideration of this comment and all other available information, NMFS
found that the OY definition is inconsistent with national standards 1
and 2. This finding formed the basis for the final agency decision to
disapprove the OY definition as part of Amendment 11.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
Dated: April 28, 1998.
Rolland A. Schmitten,
Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries
Service.
[FR Doc. 98-11777 Filed 5-1-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-F