30362 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 92 / Thursday, May 11, 2000 / Rules and Regulations

EPA APPROVED ALABAMA REGULATIONS FOR ALABAMA—Continued

State citation Title subject Adoption date EPA approval date Federal Register notice

Chapter No. 335–3–17,

Section 335–3–1–.02.

General Conformity ........... March 27, 1998 ................. May 11, 2000 .................... 65 FR 30362

****** *

3. Section 52.50 is amended by

adding a new entry at the end of the

table in paragraph (e) to read as follows:

§ 52.50 Identification of plan.

* * * * *

(e) EPA-approved Alabama nonregulatory provisions.

EPA APPROVED ALABAMA NON-REGULATORY PROVISIONS

Provision State effective date EPA approval date FEDERAL REGISTER notice Explanation

*******

Alabama Interagency

Transportation Conformity Memorandum of

Agreement.

January 20, 2000 ............ May 11, 2000 .................. 65 FR 30362.

[FR Doc. 00–11813 Filed 5–10–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration

50 CFR Part 622

[Docket No. 991112303–0069–02; I.D.

100499A]

RIN 0648–AM01

Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of

Mexico, and South Atlantic; Coastal

Migratory Pelagic Resources of the

Gulf of Mexico and South Atlantic;

Catch Specifications for Gulf Group

King and Spanish Mackerel

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),

Commerce.

ACTION: Final rule.

SUMMARY: In accordance with the

framework procedure for adjusting

management measures of the Fishery

Management Plan for the Coastal

Migratory Pelagic Resources of the Gulf

of Mexico and South Atlantic (FMP),

NMFS implements increases in the total

allowable catch (TAC) and the bag limit

for Gulf group Spanish mackerel and

establishes a new fishing season for the

Gulf group king mackerel gillnet fishery.

The intended effects of this rule are to

enhance the economic and social

benefits from the Gulf group king and

Spanish mackerel fisheries while

maintaining healthy stocks.

DATES: This final rule is effective June

12, 2000.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr.

Steve Branstetter, telephone: 727–570–

5305, fax: 727–570–5583, e-mail:

Steve.Branstetter@noaa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The

fisheries for coastal migratory pelagic

resources are regulated under the FMP.

The FMP was prepared jointly by the

Gulf of Mexico and South Atlantic

Fishery Management Councils and was

approved by NMFS and implemented

by regulations at 50 CFR part 622.

In accordance with the framework

procedures of the FMP, the Gulf of

Mexico Fishery Management Council

(Council) recommended, and NMFS

published, a proposed rule (64 FR

71388, December 21, 1999) to

implement increases in the total

allowable catch (TAC) and the bag limit

for Gulf group Spanish mackerel and a

new fishing season for the Gulf group

king mackerel gillnet fishery. The

proposed rule described the need and

rationale for these measures, which are

not repeated here.

Comments and Responses

Three individuals submitted

comments; several of the points raised

by the commenters were the same. The

relevant points and NMFS’ responses

are presented here:

Comment 1: Two commenters

opposed the delay in the opening date

of the gillnet season from November 1

to the Tuesday after the Martin Luther

King, Jr., holiday in January. One

commenter believed that this action

would shorten the season substantially

and create an economic hardship on the

fishery. The commenter suggested that a

viable alternative would be to retain the

November 1 opening date and close all

weekends and holidays. The second

commenter believed that altering the

opening date for the gillnet fishery was

discriminatory against the hook-andline fishery and that the action was

being taken without any evaluations of

the sociological impacts on other

commercial and charter king mackerel

fishermen.

Response: NMFS can only approve,

partially approve, or disapprove actions

submitted by the Councils and cannot

substitute alternative actions for those

submitted by the Councils. Therefore,

NMFS did not consider retaining the

opening date of November 1 for the

gillnet fishery, with all weekends and

holidays closed. Nevertheless, the intent

of the change in the fishing season is to

avoid quota overruns due to the 3-day

holiday. The change in the opening date

of the gillnet season should have little

overall impact on the fishery regarding

its ability to meet the gillnet quota. The

fishery normally does not begin to

harvest fish until after January 1 and has

the capacity to meet its quota in a

week’s time. Since 1995, all landings

occurred in January or early February,

except in 1998 when some landings

were recorded in November and

December. During this timeframe, the

fishery has met its quota in 7 to 31 days.

Delaying the opening date for the

gillnet sector of the fishery should not

impact the other fishing sectors. The

gillnet fishery has a dedicated quota that

historically has been harvested during

the month of January and February,

with as much as 50 to 100 percent of

Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 92 / Thursday, May 11, 2000 / Rules and Regulations 30363

that quota being harvested within only

3 to 4 days. Fishing effort is unlikely to

be concentrated into a shorter timeframe

under the new opening date than has

been demonstrated in the past, nor

would this impinge on the ability of

other sectors to harvest king mackerel

under their allocations or quotas. On the

other hand, delaying the opening date

and closing weekends to fishing should

enhance NMFS’ ability to close the

fishery when the quota is reached

without allowing overruns to occur

during time periods when a closure

notice cannot be published in the

Federal Register.

Comment 2: One commenter

requested NMFS to reconsider its

decision to continue the zero-fish bag

limit for Gulf group king mackerel for

the captains and crews of for-hire

vessels. The commenter stated that there

was no evidence to substantiate that a

two-fish captain and crew bag limit

contributed to overruns of the

recreational allocation. The commenter

pointed out that, during the 1997/1998

fishing year, the recreational allocation

was exceeded by only 3 percent; in

1998/1999, the recreational allocation

was not met; and based on preliminary

information available from the Marine

Recreational Fishing Statistics Survey

(MRFSS) for king mackerel catches in

the Gulf of Mexico, it appeared that the

recreational allocation would not be met

for the 1999/2000 fishing year.

Response: In establishing a zero-fish

bag limit for captains and crews of forhire vessels (64 FR 45457, August 20,

1999) NMFS stated that the catch

attributable to this segment of the

fishery contributed to overruns of the

recreational allocation, led to bag limit

enforcement problems, and adversely

impacted fishing mortality estimates

when those recreationally caught fish

were subsequently sold and then

counted against the commercial quota.

NMFS considered the Council’s

proposed measure for a two-fish bag

limit for captains and crew to be

contrary to the goals and objectives of

the FMP and the requirements of the

Magnuson-Stevens Act to maintain and

rebuild overfished stocks. Therefore,

NMFS disapproved the measure and did

not propose a rule to reinstate a two-fish

bag limit for captains and crew. Further

rationale for this decision is contained

in the proposed rule (64 FR 71388,

December 21, 1999).

NMFS acknowledges that, during the

1997/1998 and 1998/1999 fishing years,

the recreational catch was either under

or only slightly over the allocation.

Nevertheless, since 1986, recreational

catch has exceeded the allocation by an

average of 37 percent, and the

charterboat fishery accounts for more

than half of the total recreational

landings of Gulf group king mackerel.

NMFS estimates that a 10- to 12-percent

reduction in recreational catch of Gulf

group king mackerel could be achieved

from the zero-fish bag limit for the

captains and crews of for-hire vessels.

Catches of Gulf group king mackerel

cannot be directly calculated solely

from MRFSS data for the Gulf of

Mexico. During the period November 1

through March 31, Gulf group king

mackerel is considered to extend

northward along the Atlantic coast of

Florida to the Flagler/Volusia County

line. Large numbers of king mackerel are

caught on the Atlantic coast during this

time. Thus, any estimates of recreational

catch based solely on Gulf of Mexico

surveys will underestimate the total

catch for Gulf group king mackerel.

Classification

This final rule has been determined to

be significant for purposes of E.O.

12866.

The Chief Counsel for Regulation of

the Department of Commerce has

certified to the Chief Counsel for

Advocacy of the Small Business

Administration that this rule would not

have a significant economic impact on

a substantial number of small entities.

No comments were received regarding

this certification. As a result, a

regulatory flexibility analysis was not

prepared.

This rule does not contain a

collection-of-information requirement

subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act.

List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 622

Fisheries, Fishing, Puerto Rico,

Reporting and recordkeeping

requirements, Virgin Islands.

Dated: May 5, 2000.

Penelope D. Dalton,

Assistant Administrator for Fisheries,

National Marine Fisheries Service.

For the reasons set out in the

preamble, 50 CFR part 622 is amended

as follows:

PART 622—FISHERIES OF THE

CARIBBEAN, GULF, AND SOUTH

ATLANTIC

1. The authority citation for part 622

continues to read as follows:

Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.

2. In § 622.34, paragraph (p) is added

to read as follows:

§ 622.34 Gulf EEZ seasonal and/or area

closures.

* * * * *

(p) Closures of the Gulf group king

mackerel gillnet fishery. The gillnet

fishery for Gulf group king mackerel in

or from the Gulf EEZ is closed each

fishing year from July 1 until 6:00 a.m.

on the day after the Martin Luther King

Jr. Federal holiday. The gillnet fishery

also is closed during all subsequent

weekends and observed Federal

holidays, except for the first weekend

following the Martin Luther King Jr.

holiday which will remain open to the

gillnet fishery provided a notification of

closure of that fishery has not been filed

under § 622.43(a). Weekend closures are

effective from 6:00 a.m. Saturday to 6:00

a.m. Monday. Holiday closures are

effective from 6:00 a.m. on the observed

Federal holiday to 6:00 a.m. the

following day. All times are eastern

standard time. During these closures, a

person aboard a vessel using or

possessing a gillnet with a stretchedmesh size of 4.75 inches (12.1 cm) or

larger in the southern Florida west coast

subzone may not fish for or possess Gulf

group king mackerel.

3. In § 622.39, paragraph (c)(1)(iv) is

revised to read as follows:

§ 622.39 Bag and possession limits.

* * * * *

(c) * * *

(1) * * *

(iv) Gulf migratory group Spanish

mackerel—15.

* * * * *

4. In § 622.42, paragraph (c)(2)(i) is

revised to read as follows:

§ 622.42 Quotas.

* * * * *

(c) * * *

(2) * * *

(i) Gulf migratory group. The quota for

the Gulf migratory group of Spanish

mackerel is 5.187 million lb (2.353

million kg).

* * * * *

5. In § 622.44, paragraph

(a)(2)(ii)(A)(1) is revised to read as

follows:

30364 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 92 / Thursday, May 11, 2000 / Rules and Regulations

§ 622.44 Commercial trip limits.

* * * * *

(a) * * *

(2) * * *

(ii) * * *

(A) * * *

(1) In the southern Florida west coast

subzone, king mackerel in or from the

EEZ may be possessed on board or

landed from a vessel for which a

commercial permit with a gillnet

endorsement has been issued, as

required under § 622.4(a)(2)(ii), in

amounts not exceeding 25,000 lb

(11,340 kg) per day, provided the gillnet

fishery for Gulf group king mackerel is

not closed under § 622.34(p) or

§ 622.43(a).

* * * * *

[FR Doc. 00–11876 Filed 5–10–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510–22–F