[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 20 (Monday, January 31, 2011)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 5325-5326]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-2125]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 622
[Docket No. 110114034-1033-01]
RIN 0648-BA33
Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and South Atlantic;
Snapper-Grouper Fishery Off the Southern Atlantic States; Control Date
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Advanced notice of proposed rulemaking; consideration of a
control date.
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SUMMARY: NMFS announces that it is establishing a new control date to
control future access to the snapper-grouper fishery operating in the
exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of the South Atlantic. If changes to the
management regime are developed and implemented under the Magnuson-
Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act),
a control date could be used to further limit the number of
participants in the fishery. This announcement is intended, in part, to
promote awareness of the potential eligibility criteria for future
access so as to discourage speculative entry into the fishery while the
South Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council) and NMFS consider
whether and how access to the snapper-grouper fishery should be
controlled.
DATES: Written comments must be received on or before 5 p.m., eastern
time, March 2, 2011.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by 0648-BA33, by any one
of the following methods:
Electronic Submissions: Submit all electronic public
comments via the Federal eRulemaking Portal http://www.regulations.gov.
Fax: Attn: Karla Gore 727-824-5308.
Mail: Karla Gore, NMFS Southeast Regional Office,
Sustainable Fisheries Division, 263 13th Avenue South, St. Petersburg,
FL 33701.
Instructions: All comments received are a part of the public record
and will generally be posted to http://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
[[Page 5326]]
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). Attachments to electronic
comments will be accepted in Microsoft Word, Excel, WordPerfect, or
Adobe PDF file formats only.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kim Iverson, Public Information
Officer, South Atlantic Fishery Management Council; toll free 1-866-
SAFMC-10 or 843-571-4366; [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: At the September 2010 meeting, the Council
voted to establish a new control date of September 17, 2010, for the
snapper-grouper fishery in the South Atlantic, due to concern that the
previous control date established for the snapper-grouper fishery of
October 14, 2005 (70 FR 60058; October 14, 2005), was almost five years
old.
The control date would apply to persons who are contemplating
entering the snapper-grouper fishery in the EEZ of the South Atlantic
region. The Council requested that this control date be published in
the Federal Register to notify fishermen that if they enter such a
fishery after September 17, 2010, they may not be assured of future
access if the Council and/or NMFS decide to further limit entry or
impose other measures to manage the snapper-grouper fishery.
Establishment of the new control date for the snapper-grouper
fishery would allow the Council to evaluate the level of participation
in the snapper-grouper fishery and address any level of overcapacity.
Control dates are intended to discourage speculative entry into a
fishery, as new entrants entering the fishery after the control date
are forewarned that they are not guaranteed future participation in the
fishery.
Establishment of this control date does not commit the Council or
NMFS to any particular management regime or criteria for entry into the
snapper-grouper fishery. Fishermen are not guaranteed future
participation in the fishery regardless of their level of participation
before or after the control date. The Council may recommend a different
control date or it may recommend a management regime that does not
involve a control date. Other criteria, such as documentation of
landings or fishing effort, may be used to determine eligibility for
participation in a limited access fishery. The Council and/or NMFS also
may choose to take no further action to control entry or access to the
fisheries, in which case the control date may be rescinded. Any action
by the Council will be taken pursuant to the requirements for fishery
management plan and amendment development established under the
Magnuson-Stevens Act.
This notification also gives the public notice that interested
participants should locate and preserve records that substantiate and
verify their participation in the snapper-grouper fishery in the South
Atlantic EEZ.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
Dated: January 25, 2011.
Samuel D. Rauch III,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2011-2125 Filed 1-28-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P