[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 248 (Wednesday, December 24, 2008)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 79037-79038]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-30714]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 622
RIN 0648-AW64
Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico and South Atlantic;
Snapper-Grouper Fishery off the Southern Atlantic States; Amendment 16
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Notice of Availability of Amendment 16 to the South Atlantic
Snapper-Grouper Fishery Management Plan; request for comments.
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SUMMARY: The South Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council) has
submitted Amendment 16 to the Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for the
Snapper-Grouper Fishery of the South Atlantic Region (Amendment 16) for
review, approval, and implementation by NMFS. Amendment 16 was
developed to address overfishing and other management issues in the
snapper-grouper fishery. Amendment 16 would establish management
reference points and specify interim allocations for the commercial and
recreational sectors for gag and vermilion snapper, as well as
implement management measures which would be applied to the commercial
and recreational sectors of the snapper-grouper fishery. These
management measures include: a four-month spawning season closure of
the recreational and commercial shallow water grouper fisheries; a
five-month closure of the recreational vermilion snapper fishery;
commercial quotas for gag and vermilion snapper; a reduced recreational
grouper aggregate bag limit (including tilefish) and vermilion snapper
bag limit; and a requirement to use dehooking and venting tools to
reduce bycatch mortality of snapper-grouper species.
DATES: Comments must be received no later than 5 p.m., eastern time, on
February 23, 2009.
ADDRESSES: Comments on Amendment 16, identified by 0648-AW64, may be
sent to either of the following addresses:
Electronic submissions: Submit all electronic public
comments via the Federal rule-making portal: www.regulations.gov
Mail: John McGovern, NMFS, Southeast Regional Office, 263
13th Ave. South, St. Petersburg, FL 33701
Fax: (727) 824-8308 Attn: John McGovern
Instructions: All comments received are a part of the public record
and will generally be posted to www.regulations.gov without change. All
Personal Identifying Information (for example, name, address, etc.)
voluntarily submitted by the commenter may be publicly accessible. Do
not submit Confidential Business Information or otherwise sensitive or
protected information.
NMFS will accept anonymous comments. Attachments to electronic
comments will be accepted in Microsoft Word, Excel, WordPerfect, or
Adobe PDF file formats only. Copies of Amendment 16, which includes a
final environmental impact statement, a regulatory impact review, a
regulatory flexibility analysis, and a fishery impact statement are
available from the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council, 4055
Faber Place, Suite 201, North Charleston, SC 29405; telephone 843-571-
4366; fax 843-769-4520; e-mail [email protected].
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: John McGovern, telephone: 727-824-
5305;
[[Page 79038]]
fax: 727-824-5308; e-mail: [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The South Atlantic snapper-grouper fishery
is managed under the Snapper-Grouper FMP of the South Atlantic Region
(Snapper-Grouper FMP). The Snapper-Grouper FMP was prepared by the
Council and implemented by NMFS under the authority of the Magnuson-
Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act)
by regulations at 50 CFR part 622.
Background
South Atlantic stocks of gag, vermilion snapper, red grouper and
black grouper are classified as experiencing overfishing, and gag is
classified as approaching an overfished condition. The proposed
amendment would implement new management measures designed to address
overfishing of these species and to protect all shallow-water grouper
species (gag, black grouper, red grouper, scamp, rock hind, red hind,
coney, graysby, yellowfin grouper, red grouper, yellowmouth grouper,
and tiger grouper) during their spawning season. Also, the amendment
would authorize NMFS' Southeast Regional Administrator to adjust
vermilion snapper management measures to achieve optimum yield (OY) in
the fishery based on the results of the recently completed stock
assessment.
The amendment includes alternatives that specify interim
allocations between the commercial and recreational sectors for the gag
and vermilion snapper fisheries. This amendment also would implement
new management reference points for gag and vermilion snapper,
including maximum sustainable yield and OY, which reflect current
scientific information as provided by the assessments and approved by
the Council's Scientific and Statistical Committee. In addition,
Amendment 16 includes alternatives that would establish a four-month
spawning season closure of the recreational and commercial shallow-
water grouper fisheries, a five-month closure of the recreational
vermilion snapper fishery, specify commercial quotas for gag and
vermilion snapper, reduce the recreational grouper aggregate bag limit
(including tilefish) and the vermilion snapper bag limit, and require
the use of venting tools and dehooking devices to reduce bycatch
mortality of incidentally caught snapper-grouper species.
Procedural Aspects of Amendment 16
The Council has submitted Amendment 16 for Secretarial review,
approval and implementation. NMFS' decision to approve, partially
approve or disapprove Amendment 16 will be based, in part, on
consideration of comments, recommendations, and information received
during the comment period on this notice of availability (NOA). A
proposed rule will be published in the Federal Register for public
comment. After considering public comment on the NOA, and consistency
with Magnuson-Stevens Act and other applicable laws, NMFS will publish
a notice of agency action in the Federal Register announcing the
Agency's decision to approve, partially approve or disapprove Amendment
16, and the associated rationale. If approved, the provisions of
Amendment 16 would be specified in a final rule published in the
Federal Register.
Consideration of Public Comments
Public comments received by 5 p.m. eastern time on February 23,
2009 will be considered by NMFS in the approval/disapproval decision
regarding Amendment 16.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
Dated: December 19, 2008.
Alan D. Risenhoover,
Office Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. E8-30714 Filed 12-23-08; 8:45 am]
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