[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 20 (Monday, January 31, 2011)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 5326-5327]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-2129]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 622
[Docket No. 110114033-1032-01]
RIN 0648-BA32
Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and South Atlantic;
King and Spanish Mackerel Coastal Migratory Pelagic 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 king and Spanish mackerel components of
the coastal migratory pelagics 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 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-BA32, 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 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 Council meeting, the
Council recommended a new control date of September 17, 2010, for king
and Spanish mackerel. The Council requested a new control date for the
king and Spanish mackerel components because the Gulf of Mexico Fishery
Management Council is beginning to look at latent permits which may
ultimately impact the Council. A previous control date for the
commercial king and Spanish mackerel components had been established on
June 15, 2004 (70 FR 67985). The control date would apply to persons
who are contemplating fishing for king and Spanish mackerel 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 this segment of the
coastal migratory pelagics fishery.
[[Page 5327]]
Establishment of the new control date would allow the Council to
evaluate the level of participation in the king and Spanish mackerel
components of the coastal migratory pelagic 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
coastal migratory pelagic 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
fishery, 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 coastal migratory pelagics fishery in
the South Atlantic EEZ.
Classification:
Executive Order 12866: This rule has been determined to be not
significant for purposes of EO 12866.
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. 2011-2129 Filed 1-28-11; 8:45 am]
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