[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 1 (Monday, January 3, 2005)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 68-69]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-28738]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 648
[I.D. 122304D]
RIN 0648-AN25
Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act
Provisions; Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Monkfish
Fishery; Amendment 2 to the Monkfish Fishery Management Plan
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Notice of availability of a fishery management plan amendment;
request for comments.
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SUMMARY: NMFS announces that the New England Fishery Management Council
(NEFMC) and the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council (MAFMC) have
submitted Amendment 2 to the Monkfish Fishery Management Plan (FMP)
(Amendment 2) incorporating the draft Final Supplemental Environmental
Impact Statement (FSEIS), Regulatory Impact Review (RIR), and the
Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis (IRFA), for Secretarial review
and is requesting comments from the public. Amendment 2 was developed
to address essential fish habitat (EFH) and bycatch issues, and to
revise the FMP to address several issues raised during the public
scoping process. The intent of this action is to provide efficient
management of the monkfish fishery and to meet conservation objectives.
DATES: Comments must be received on or before March 3, 2005.
ADDRESSES: Written comments on the proposed interim rule may be
submitted by any of the following methods:
E-mail: E-mail comments may be submitted to http://[email protected]. Include in the subject line the following:
``Comments on the Monkfish Amendment 2.''
Federal e-Rulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov.
Mail: Comments submitted by mail should be sent to
Patricia A. Kurkul, Regional Administrator, Northeast Region, NMFS, One
Blackburn Drive, Gloucester, MA 01930-2298. Mark the outside of the
envelope ``Comments on the Monkfish Amendment 2.''
Facsimile (fax): Comments submitted by fax should be faxed
to (978) 281-9135.
Copies of Amendment 2, the FSEIS, RIR, and IRFA are available from
Paul J. Howard, Executive Director, New England Fishery Management
Council, 50 Water Street, Newburyport, MA 01950. These documents are
also available online at http://www.nefmc.org.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Allison R. Ferreira, Fishery Policy
Analyst, (978) 281-9103; fax (978) 281-9135; e-mail:
[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: A notice of availability for the Draft
Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (DSEIS) for Amendment 2 was
published in the Federal Register on April 30, 2004 (69 FR 23571), with
public comment accepted through July 28, 2004. After considering all
comments on the DSEIS, the NEFMC and MAFMC adopted the final measures
to be included in Amendment 2 at their respective September 14-16,
2004, and October 4-6, 2004, meetings, and voted to submit the
Amendment 2 document, including the FSEIS, to NMFS.
The NEFMC and MAFMC developed Amendment 2 to address a number of
issues that arose out of the implementation of the original FMP, as
well as issues that were identified during public scoping. Issues
arising from the original FMP include: (1) The displacement of vessels
from their established monkfish fisheries due to restrictive trip
limits; (2) unattainable permit qualification criteria for vessels in
the southern end of the range of the fishery; (3) discards (bycatch) of
monkfish due to regulations (i.e., minimum size restrictions and
incidental catch limits); and (4) deficiencies in meeting Magnuson-
Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act)
requirements pertaining to protection of EFH in accordance with the
Joint Stipulation and Order resulting from the legal challenge American
Oceans Campaign, et al. v. Daley. Issues arising from public scoping
include: (1) Deficiencies in meeting Magnuson-Stevens Act requirements,
including preventing overfishing and rebuilding overfished stocks; (2)
a need to improve monkfish data collection and research; (3) the need
to establish a North Atlantic Fisheries Organization (NAFO) exemption
program for monkfish; multiple vessel baseline specifications for
limited access monkfish vessels; (4) a need to update environmental
documents describing the impact of the FMP; and, (5) a need to reduce
FMP complexity where possible.
Amendment 2 evaluates and includes the following measures to
minimize the adverse effects of fishing on EFH: A maximum disc diameter
of 6 inches (15.2 cm) for trawl gear vessels fishing in the Southern
Fishery Management Area (SFMA); and closure of two deep-sea canyon
areas to all gears when fishing under the monkfish day-at-sea (DAS)
program. Amendment 2 also proposes the following management measures:
(1) A new limited access permit for qualified vessels fishing south of
38o 20' N. lat.; (2) an offshore trawl fishery in the SFMA;
establishment of a research DAS set-aside program; (3) an exemption
program for vessels fishing outside of the Exclusive Economic Zone; (4)
adjustments to the incidental monkfish catch limits; a decrease in the
minimum monkfish size in the SFMA; (5) removal of the 20-day block
requirement; revisions to the monkfish baseline provisions; and (6)
additions to the frameworable measures.
Public comments are being solicited on Amendment 2 and its
incorporated documents through the end of the comment period stated in
this notice of availability. A proposed rule that would implement
Amendment 2 may 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 Amendment 2 to be considered in the approval/
disapproval decision on the amendment. All comments received by March
3, 2005, whether specifically directed to Amendment 2 or the proposed
rule, will be considered in the approval/disapproval decision on
Amendment 2. Comments received after that date will not be considered
in the decision to approve or disapprove Amendment 2. Therefore, to be
considered, comments must be received by close of business on the last
date of the comment period, March 3, 2005; that does not mean
postmarked or otherwise transmitted by that date.
[[Page 69]]
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
Dated: December 27, 2004.
Alan D. Risenhoover,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 04-28738 Filed 12-30-04; 8:45 am]
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