[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 231 (Wednesday, December 2, 1998)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 66522-66524]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-32038]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 622
[I.D. 111998A]
Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council; Public Hearings
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
[[Page 66523]]
ACTION: Notice of public hearings; request for comments.
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SUMMARY: The Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council (Council) will
convene public hearings on a Draft Sustainable Fisheries Act (SFA)
Amendment and on a draft regulatory amendment regarding gag and black
grouper in Federal waters of the Gulf of Mexico. Some of the hearings
in the Gulf region will be joint hearings to receive comments on both
draft amendments.
DATES: Written comments on the Draft SFA Amendment and the draft
regulatory amendment will be accepted by the Council through January 4,
1999. The public hearings will be held in December 1998. See
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION for specific dates, times, and locations of
the public hearings.
ADDRESSES: Written comments should be sent to, and copies of the Draft
SFA Amendment and draft regulatory amendment are available from, the
Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council, 3018 U.S. Highway 301,
North, Suite 1000, Tampa, FL 33619.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Wayne E. Swingle, Executive Director,
Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council; Telephone: (813) 228-2815.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In 1996, Congress passed the SFA, which
contained new requirements for the management of marine fisheries in
Federal waters. To meet these new requirements, the Council developed
the Draft SFA Amendment that would amend all fishery management plans
(FMPs) prepared by the Council. The Draft SFA Amendment includes
alternative management measures for: (1) Reporting bycatch; (2)
minimizing bycatch or bycatch mortality; (3) specifying higher
standards for overfishing criteria that will restore fishery stocks to
maximum sustainable yield (MSY); and (4) establishing rebuilding
periods for overfished stocks, such as red snapper, king mackerel, and
red drum. The Draft SFA Amendment also identifies communities
economically dependent on fishing so that the impacts of fishery
management measures on these communities can be assessed.
The section on reporting bycatch discusses five alternatives
related to the submission of data by fishermen and vessel observers.
The Council recommends that NMFS collect bycatch information by the
most appropriate methods, but use mandatory observers only when the
Council recommends such an approach.
In the section on measures to minimize bycatch or bycatch
mortality, the Council recommends that stone crab traps used in Federal
waters be constructed according to Florida law.
In the section on overfishing criteria and stock rebuilding periods
for finfish, the Council recommends that MSY, optimum yield (OY), and
the overfishing thresholds be set at higher levels than in the existing
FMPs. For red snapper, the Council recommends setting MSY and the
overfishing threshold at 26-percent spawning potential ratio (SPR), and
OY at 36-percent SPR. For red drum, all the coastal migratory species
(including mackerels), and all reef fish species (except red snapper,
gag, Nassau grouper, and jewfish), the Council recommends setting MSY,
OY, and overfishing thresholds at 30-percent SPR. For Nassau grouper
and jewfish, the Council recommends setting MSY, OY, and the
overfishing threshold at 50-percent SPR. The Council has not selected a
proposal for gag. The effect of specifying overfishing criteria at
higher levels for the finfish stocks is that additional stocks may be
classified as overfished if NMFS approves the final SFA amendment in
1999.
The Council proposes to modify the rebuilding periods for two
overfished stocks. It proposes that red snapper be rebuilt by 2033, and
king mackerel by 2009. No rebuilding periods are proposed for red drum,
Nassau grouper, or jewfish because there was insufficient information
to compute the rebuilding periods.
Also, the Draft SFA Amendment does not contain proposed overfished
thresholds in terms of biomass (weight) for any of the finfish stocks
because there was insufficient information to compute these parameters.
The Draft SFA Amendment includes alternatives for overfished thresholds
that are expressed in terms of SPR.
In the section on overfishing criteria and stock rebuilding periods
for the crustacean fisheries, the Council has proposed setting MSY, OY,
and the overfishing thresholds for penaeid shrimp at or above the
parent stock numbers (as indexed from current virtual population
analysis (VPA) procedures) for the three penaeid species of shrimp in
the Gulf of Mexico: (1) Brown shrimp (125 million individuals, age 7+
months during the November through February period); (2) white shrimp
(330 million individuals, age 7+ months during the May through August
period); and (3) pink shrimp (100 million individuals, age 5+ months
during the July through June year). For royal red shrimp, the Council
proposes setting MSY, OY, and the overfishing threshold at 650,000 lb
(294,840 kg).
For spiny lobster, the Council proposes to set MSY and the
overfishing threshold at 20-percent transitional SPR or spawning stock
biomass per recruit, but OY would be set at 30-percent SPR. For stone
crab, the Council recommends setting MSY, OY, and the overfishing
threshold at the harvest level that results from a realized egg
production per recruit at or above 70 percent of potential production.
This harvest capacity is currently estimated to be between 3.0 and 3.5
million lb (between 1.36 and 1.58 million kg) of claws (minimum 70 mm
propodus length). Overfished thresholds are specified as one-half of
MSY or slightly higher for the crustacean stocks, none of which is
overfished.
Ten public hearings will be held to obtain public comments on the
Draft SFA Amendment (see Public Hearing Times and Locations). The
public comment period for the Draft SFA Amendment ends on January 4,
1999.
The Council will also hold public hearings on possible regulatory
changes to the management of gag and black grouper in Federal waters of
the Gulf of Mexico. Issues addressed in the draft regulatory amendment
for gag and black grouper include the following: (1) Specification of a
total allowable catch (TAC) for gag; (2) discussion of the allocation
of the gag TAC between recreational and commercial sectors; (3) a
minimum size limit increase for gag and black grouper from 20 to 24
inches (50.8 to 60.9 cm) total length; (4) a 2-fish recreational bag
limit for gag as part of the existing 5-fish aggregate grouper bag
limit; (5) a zero bag limit for gag for the captain and crew of
recreational for-hire vessels; (6) a commercial trip limit for gag; (7)
a closed season during peak gag spawning times; and (8) area closures
at gag spawning aggregation locations.
The Council currently has no preferred alternatives. However, in
its ``1998 Report to Congress on the Status of Fisheries of the United
States,'' NMFS identified gag in the Gulf of Mexico as a stock that,
while not currently overfished, is approaching an overfished condition.
Under the provisions of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and
Management Act, the Council is required to take action to prevent
overfishing from occurring for stocks identified by NMFS as approaching
an overfished condition. The Council will decide which measures to
recommend to achieve that goal at its January 11 to 14, 1999, meeting
to be held in Biloxi, MS. Comments on the draft regulatory
[[Page 66524]]
amendment for gag and black grouper must be received by January 4,
1999.
Public Hearing Times and Addresses
Public hearings will be held from 7:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. at all of
the following locations, except Panama City, FL, Orange Beach, AL, and
Larose, LA; where the hearings on the draft regulatory amendment for
gag and black grouper will be from 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m., and the
hearings on the Draft SFA Amendment will be from 7:00 p.m. to 10:00
p.m.
Monday, December 7, 1998--Pier House, One Duval Street, Key West,
FL--Draft gag and black grouper regulatory amendment;
Monday, December 7, 1998--Holiday Inn-Fort Brown, 1900 E. Elizabeth
Street, Brownsville, TX--Draft SFA Amendment;
Tuesday, December 8, 1998--Steinhatchee Elementary School,
1st Avenue South, Steinhatchee, FL--Draft gag and black
grouper regulatory amendment;
Tuesday, December 8, 1998--Pier House, One Duval Street, Key West,
FL--Draft SFA Amendment;
Tuesday, December 8, 1998--Port Aransas Civic Center Auditorium,
710 West Avenue A, Port Aransas, TX--Draft SFA Amendment;
Wednesday, December 9, 1998--City Hall Auditorium, 3001 Municipal
Drive, Madeira Beach, FL--Draft gag and black grouper regulatory
amendment;
Wednesday, December 9, 1998--Texas A&M Auditorium, 200 Seawolf
Parkway, Galveston, TX--Draft SFA Amendment;
Thursday, December 10, 1998--Courtyard Marriott, 4455 Metro
Parkway, Fort Myers, FL--Draft gag and black grouper regulatory
amendment;
Thursday, December 10, 1998--New Orleans Airport Hilton &
Conference Center, 901 Airline Highway, Kenner, LA--Draft SFA
Amendment;
Thursday, December 10, 1998--Ramada Airport Inn & Conference
Center, 5303 West Kennedy Boulevard, Tampa, FL--Draft SFA Amendment;
Monday, December 14, 1998--National Marine Fisheries Service Panama
City Laboratory, 3500 Delwood Beach Road, Panama City, FL--both the
Draft SFA Amendment and the draft gag and black grouper regulatory
amendment;
Tuesday, December 15, 1998--Orange Beach Community Center, 27235
Canal Road, Orange Beach, AL--both the Draft SFA Amendment and the
draft gag and black grouper regulatory amendment;
Wednesday, December 16, 1998--J. L. Scott Marine Education Center &
Aquarium, 115 East Beach Boulevard, US Highway 90, Biloxi, MS--Draft
SFA Amendment; and
Thursday, December 17, 1998--Larose Regional Park, 2001 East 5th
Street, Larose, LA--both the Draft SFA Amendment and the draft gag and
black grouper regulatory amendment.
Copies of the Draft SFA Amendment and the draft regulatory
amendment on gag and black grouper may be obtained by calling the
Council at 813-228-2815.
Special Accommodations
These meetings are physically accessible to people with
disabilities. Requests for sign language interpretation or other
auxiliary aids should be directed to Anne Alford at the Council (see
ADDRESSES) by December 7, 1998.
Dated: November 24, 1998.
Bruce C. Morehead,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 98-32038 Filed 12-1-98; 8:45 am]
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