31132 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 95 / Tuesday, May 16, 2000 / Proposed Rules

5452.233–9001 Disputes: Agreement to

Use Alternative Dispute Resolution

(ADR).

As prescribed in 5433.214, insert the

following clause:

DISPUTES: AGREEMENT TO USE

ALTERNATIVE DISPUTE RESOLUTION

(ADR) xxx 2000)—DLAD

(a) The parties agree to use their best efforts

to resolve any disputes that may arise

without litigation. If unassisted negotiations

are unsuccessful, the parties will use ADR

techniques in an attempt to resolve the

dispute. Litigation will only be considered as

a last resort when ADR is unsuccessful or has

been documented by the party rejecting ADR

to be inappropriate for resolving the dispute.

If the ADR is not successful, the parties retain

their existing rights.

(b) If you wish to opt out of this clause,

check here [ ]. Alternate wording may be

negotiated with the contracting officer.

William J. Kenny,

Executive Director, Logistics Policy and

Acquisition Management.

[FR Doc. 00–12106 Filed 5–15–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3620–01–M

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration

50 CFR Part 622

[Docket No. 000503121–0121–01; I.D.

030600A]

RIN 0648–AN07

Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of

Mexico, and South Atlantic; Coastal

Migratory Pelagic Resources of the

Gulf of Mexico and South Atlantic;

Catch Specifications

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),

Commerce.

ACTION: Proposed rule, request for

comments.

SUMMARY: In accordance with the

framework procedure for adjusting

management measures (framework

procedure) of the Fishery Management

Plan for the Coastal Migratory Pelagic

Resources of the Gulf of Mexico and

South Atlantic (FMP), NMFS proposes

the following: Increase the annual total

allowable catch (TAC) and increase the

commercial trip limit off the southeast

coast of Florida for Atlantic group king

mackerel; increase the TAC, modify the

commercial trip limits applicable off

Florida, and increase the recreational

bag limit for Atlantic group Spanish

mackerel; and incorporate into the FMP

biomass-based values for maximum

sustainable yield (MSY) and stock status

determination criteria in compliance

with the requirements of the Sustainable

Fisheries Act of 1996, which amended

the Magnuson-Stevens Fisheries

Conservation and Management Act

(Magnuson-Stevens Act). The intended

effects of this rule are to maintain

healthy stocks of king and Spanish

mackerel while still allowing catches by

important commercial and recreational

fisheries.

DATES: Comments must be received no

later than 5 p.m., eastern standard time,

on May 31, 2000.

ADDRESSES: Written comments on the

proposed rule must be mailed to the

Southeast Regional Office, NMFS, 9721

Executive Center Drive N., St.

Petersburg, FL 33702. Comments may

also be sent via fax to 727–570–5583.

Comments will not be accepted if

submitted via e-mail or the Internet.

Requests for copies of the South

Atlantic Fishery Management Council’s

frame work recommendations for

adjustment of harvest levels and related

matters, which includes an

environmental assessment, social

impact assessment/fishery impact

statement, and regulatory impact

review, should be sent to the South

Atlantic Fishery Management Council,

One Southpark Circle, Suite 306,

Charleston, SC 29407-4699; telephone:

843-571-4366; fax: 843-769-4520; e-mail:

safmc@noaa.gov.

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 and implemented by NMFS

through regulations at 50 CFR part 622.

In accordance with the framework

procedure, the South Atlantic Fishery

Management Council (Council)

recommended to the Regional

Administrator, Southeast Region, NMFS

(RA), management measure changes

relating to Atlantic migratory groups of

king and Spanish mackerel. The

recommended changes are within the

scope of the management measures that

may be adjusted under the framework

procedure, as specified in 50 CFR

622.48.

Proposed TACs, Allocations, and

Quotas

The Council proposed an increase in

annual TAC from 8.40 million lb (3.81

million kg) to 10.00 million lb (4.54

million kg) for Atlantic group king

mackerel. The commercial quota would

be 3.71 million lb (1.68 million kg) and

the recreational allocation would be

6.29 million lb (2.85 million kg). The

Council proposed an increase in annual

TAC from 6.60 million lb (2.99 million

kg) to 7.04 million lb (3.19 million kg)

for Atlantic migratory group Spanish

mackerel. The commercial quota would

be 3.87 million lb (1.76 million kg) and

the recreational allocation would be

3.17 million lb (1.44 million kg).

Consistent with the framework

procedure, these proposed TACs are

within the range of the acceptable

biological catch established by the

Council. The Council believes these

TACs represent a conservative

management approach, as supported by

its Scientific and Statistical Committee

and Mackerel Advisory Panel, and are

consistent with the attainment of

optimum yield (OY) for Atlantic group

king and Spanish mackerel, as provided

by the FMP. The resulting commercial

quotas and recreational allocations

would be higher than recent harvest

levels; consequently, no early or

unexpected fishery closures or quota/

allocation overruns would be likely.

Commercial Vessel Trip Limits

The commercial sectors of the king

and Spanish mackerel fisheries are

managed under both quotas and trip

limits. The Council proposed an

increase in the trip limit applicable off

the southeast coast of Florida (Brevard

through Miami-Dade Counties) from 50

to 75 fish per day from April 1 though

October 31 for Atlantic group king

mackerel. Landings records for the

southeast coast of Florida indicate that

as many as 10 to 12 percent of all trips

land 40 fish or more per trip, and a

relatively small proportion of trips (3 to

10 percent) land fish in excess of the

trip limit. An increase in landings per

trip would be expected to increase the

net benefits per trip. It is unlikely that

this proposed increase in the trip limit

would cause an earlier closure of the

fishery given the increased TAC for

Atlantic group king mackerel.

The Council proposed to change the

commercial trip limits applicable to the

fishery off Florida for Atlantic group

Spanish mackerel. Currently, the trip

limits south of the Georgia/Florida

boundary are as follows: From April 1

through October 31 - 1,500 lb (680 kg);

from November 1 until 75 percent of the

adjusted quota is taken, no trip limit on

Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, and

1,500 lb (680 kg) on other days; after 75

percent of the adjusted quota is taken

until 100 percent is taken - 1,500 lb (680

Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 95 / Tuesday, May 16, 2000 / Proposed Rules 31133

kg); and after 100 percent of the

adjusted quota is taken until the end of

the fishing year - 500 lb (227 kg). The

adjusted quota is 3.38 million lb (1.53

million kg), which is derived from the

3.87–million lb (1.76–million kg) quota

for Atlantic group Spanish mackerel as

reduced to allow continued harvests of

Atlantic group Spanish mackerel at the

rate of 500 lb (227 kg) per vessel per day

for the remainder of the fishing year

after the adjusted quota is reached.

As proposed by the Council for the

Atlantic group Spanish mackerel

commercial fishery off Florida, from

April 1 through November 30 the trip

limit would be 3,500 lb (1,588 kg); from

December 1 until 75 percent of the

adjusted quota is taken there would be

no trip limit on Monday through Friday

and on Saturday and Sunday the trip

limit would be 1,500 lb (680 kg).

The proposed increase in the

commercial trip limit off Florida for the

April 1 - November 30 period would

benefit those vessels that are currently

constrained by the trip limit, since it

would increase their net benefits per

trip. While the commencement of

unlimited trip limits, currently

November 1, would be delayed for one

month, vessels would be compensated

by an increase of two days per week on

which unlimited fishing would be

allowed.

Recreational Bag Limit

The Council proposed to increase the

recreational bag limit for Atlantic group

Spanish mackerel from 10 to 15 fish per

person per day. It is unlikely that this

proposed increase in the recreational

bag limit would cause the recreational

allocation to be exceeded given the

increased TAC for Atlantic group

Spanish mackerel. The proposed

increase in the bag limit would be

expected to increase the economic and

social benefits.

Biomass-Based Parameters

Section 303 of the Magnuson-Stevens

Act requires that the regional fishery

management councils (councils) (1)

assess the condition of managed stocks,

(2) specify within their fishery

management plans objective and

measurable criteria for identifying when

the stocks are overfished and when

overfishing is occurring (referred to by

NMFS as stock status determination

criteria), and (3) amend their fishery

management plans to include measures

to rebuild overfished stocks and

maintain them at healthy levels capable

of producing maximum sustainable

yield (MSY). NMFS’ national standard

guidelines direct the councils to meet

these statutory requirements by

incorporating into each fishery

management plan estimates of certain

biomass-based parameters for each

stock, including Bmsy (Bmsy is the

weight (biomass) of the stock that will

produce MSY) and the minimum stock

size threshold (MSST) (MSST is a stock

status determination criterion that

indicates the minimum stock size that is

required to produce MSY, below which

the stock would be considered

overfished). A maximum fishing

mortality threshold (MFMT) for

determining whether overfishing is

occurring is also required for each stock

(MFMT is the level or rate of fishing

mortality, that if exceeded, will result in

overfishing and jeopardize the capacity

of a stock to produce MSY on a

continuing basis). Heretofore, the

Council used spawning potential ratios

to indicate whether Atlantic group king

and Spanish mackerel stocks were at the

MSY level or overfished because it did

not have the necessary information for

generating the status determination

criteria (Bmsy and MSST). However,

based on stock assessment information

provided recently by NMFS to the

Council, the Council is proposing to

incorporate into the FMP, through the

framework procedure, the required

biomass-based parameters. Accordingly,

the Council’s proposes the range

estimates of MSY, BMSY, MSST, and

MFMT shown below. NMFS invites

public comment on these estimated

parameters.

Atlantic Group MSY - million lb (million kg) BMSY* MSST* MFMT - fishing mortality

rate

King Mackerel 9.4 - 14.5 (4.3 - 6.6) 4.7 - 7.1 4.0 - 6.1 0.32 - 0.48

Spanish Mackerel 5.7 - 7.5 (2.6 - 3.4) 12.2 - 15.8 8.5 - 11.1 0.38 - 0.48

* Biomass values are a unitless relative fecundity estimate in millions.

The FMP’s determinations regarding

‘‘overfishing’’ and ‘‘overfished’’ would

change with the adoption of these new

stock status determination criteria. The

Council proposes to define overfishing

of a stock as occurring if Fcurrent / Fmsy

> 1.0 (where Fcurrent is the current

fishing mortality rate and Fmsy is the

level of fishing mortality that results in

MSY). A stock would then be overfished

if Bcurrent / MSST is < 1.0, where MSST

=(1.0– M)Bmsy (where Bcurrent is the

current stock biomass and M is the

natural mortality—a measurement of the

rate of removal of fish from a population

from natural causes).

The RA initially concurs that the

Council’s recommendations meet the

goals and objectives of the FMP and that

they are consistent with the FMP, the

Magnuson-Stevens Act, and other

applicable law. Accordingly, the

Council’s recommended changes are

published for comment.

Classification

This proposed rule has been

determined to be not significant for

purposes of Executive Order 12866.

The Chief Counsel for Regulation of

the Department of Commerce certified

to the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the

Small Business Administration that this

proposed rule, if adopted, would not

have a significant economic impact on

a substantial number of small entities,

as follows:

For Atlantic group king mackerel, the

proposed rule would increase the TAC

from 8.4 million lb (3.8 million kg) to

10.0 million lb (4.5 million kg) and

would increase the trip limit in the

southern zone from 50 to 75 fish. For

Atlantic group Spanish mackerel, the

proposed rule would increase the TAC

from 6.6 million lb (3.0 million kg) to

7.04 million lb (3.19 million kg), would

increase the recreational bag limit from

10 to 15 fish per day, and would modify

the commercial trip limit system for the

area south of the Florida-Georgia border.

The action would also modify MSY,

stock status determination criteria, and

definitions of ‘‘overfishing’’ and

‘‘overfished’’ for Atlantic group king

and Spanish mackerel.

All commercial fishing and for-hire

businesses that have permits to harvest

Atlantic group king and Spanish

mackerel are considered to be small

entities, and the Council concluded that

a substantial number of these small

entities (greater than 20 percent)

operating in commercial and for-hire

fisheries could be affected by the

proposed changes. Although the exact

31134 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 95 / Tuesday, May 16, 2000 / Proposed Rules

number of small businesses that actually

exercise their permit rights is unknown,

the approximate numbers of small

businesses holding harvest permits are

as follows: Commercial king and

Spanish mackerel - 1,200 and for-hire -

600.

Atlantic Group King Mackerel The

Council’s proposal to increase TAC from

8.4 million lb (3.8 million kg) to 10.0

million lb (4.5 million kg) would

provide for a commercial quota of 3.12

million lb (1.42 million kg) or a

590,000–lb (267,620–kg) increase.

However, given the fact that commercial

landings since 1990 have never

exceeded 2.7 million lb (1.2 million kg),

the increased TAC would not likely

constrain catches. Also, present

harvesting capacity may not be

sufficient to take advantage of the

increased TAC. The TAC increase will

result in a recreational allocation of 6.29

million lb (2.85 million kg) or an

increase of 1.0 million lb (0.45 million

kg). Recreational catches for the 1997/98

and 1998/99 seasons were 5.39 and 3.62

million lb (2.45 and 1.64 million kg)

respectively, so there is a small

possibility that the increased

recreational allocation could be

exceeded. However, the recreational

fishery is not subject to closure actions

regardless of the size of the catch, i.e.,

recreational catches are not constrained

by the recreational allocation. Noting

that an increased allocation is based on

the fact of increased stock size, catches

may increase slightly because catch per

unit effort may rise slightly.

Nonetheless, any increase in catch will

be related to stock size and not to the

level of the official allocation.

The other proposed king mackerel

measure would increase the daily trip

limit from 50 to 75 fish from April 1

through October 31 in the EEZ off

Brevard through Miami-Dade counties

(Florida). Since this area accounts for

about 50 percent of the commercial

catches, there is a possibility that raising

the trip limit could result in increased

catches for the year. Recent data

indicate that over 90 percent of

commercial trips in this area catch 50

fish or less, and the other trips represent

either violations of existing laws or the

reporting of multiple trips as one trip.

Also, over 80 percent of trips for the last

two seasons resulted in catches

averaging less than 30 fish. Nonetheless,

to the extent that a small percentage of

current trips are constrained by the

status quo, there may be a small

increase in the total catches and a

concurrent small increase in associated

commercial revenues. This increase is

expected to be small enough that no

measurable decrease in price would be

expected.

Atlantic Group Spanish Mackerel The

Council proposes an increase in TAC for

Atlantic group Spanish mackerel from

6.6 million lb (3.0 million kg) to 7.04

million lb (3.19 million kg), or an

increase of 440,000 lb (199,581 kg). This

will result in a commercial quota of 3.87

million lb (1.76 million kg) or 240,000

lb (108,862 kg) above the current quota.

Starting with the 1995/96 season, a ban

on the use of nets in Florida waters has

constrained commercial landings; the

catches have ranged from 2.0 to 3.3

million lb (0.9 to 1.5 million kg) since

the ban was instituted. Given these

factors, the TAC increase is not

expected to result in increased annual

commercial landings, and no economic

effects on the commercial harvesting

sector are expected from the increase in

TAC. The recreational allocation under

the increased TAC would be 3.17

million lb (1.44 million kg). Since

recreational landings have averaged less

than 1.2 million lb (0.54 million kg) for

the last 5 years, the increase in the

recreational allocation is unlikely to

have any economic impact on the

recreational for-hire fishery.

Since the recreational allocations

have not been reached in recent years,

the Council also proposes an increase in

the recreational daily bag limit from 10

to 15 Spanish mackerel per person.

Since some of the for-hire small entities

target Spanish mackerel seasonally,

there is a possibility that the increase in

the bag limit would lead to an increased

number of for-hire trips. However, only

about 2 percent of for-hire trips target

Spanish mackerel and over 97 percent

of recent recreational trips result in

landing at the current bag limit or less.

Consequently, the proposed increase in

the bag limit is expected to have a

positive, but very small, economic

impact on the for-hire sector.

The other proposed Spanish mackerel

measure would modify the commercial

trip limit system governing commercial

catches south of the Georgia/Florida

border. Since the landings south of

Georgia constitute about 80 percent of

the total annual commercial landings of

Spanish mackerel, these trip limit

changes could possibly affect overall

landings. These changes include an

increase in the trip limit to 3,500 lb

(1,588 kg) from April 1 through

November 30, as opposed to the current

1,500 lb (680.4 kg) trip limit for the

period April 1 through October 31. In

addition, there is a proposal to allow

unlimited fishing on all weekdays and

to impose a 1,500 lb (680.4 kg) trip limit

for Saturday and Sunday starting on

December 1 until 75 percent of the

quota is reached, at which point the trip

limit would be 1,500 lb (680.4 kg) for all

days of the week. The current system

provides for unlimited fishing on

Monday, Wednesday, and Friday and a

1,500–lb (680.4–kg) trip limit on

Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, and

Saturday starting on November 1 until

75 percent of the quota is reached at

which point the trip limit is set at 1,500

lb (680.4 kg) for all days of the week.

The most important parts of this rather

complex set of changes concern the

increase in the trip limit from 1,500 lb

to 3,500 lb (680.4 to 1,588 kg), a

shortening of the unlimited season, and

an increase in the number of days of

unlimited fishing for other parts of the

year. Some of these trip limit changes

would tend to result in larger annual

commercial landings and revenues,

while other changes would tend to

reduce landings and revenues. The

analysis of the expected overall impacts

of the trip limit changes for Spanish

mackerel is hampered because of

limited seasonal, areal, and catch-pertrip data; also, logbooks have only

recently been implemented and these

data are not yet available. Despite these

difficulties, and based on the way the

fishery tends to operate seasonally, the

tentative conclusion is that the change

in the trip limit from 1,500 to 3,500 lb

(680.4 to 1,588 kg) is not likely to have

the large positive impact expected

because this particular change will

pertain at a time of the year when

Spanish mackerel are not seasonally

abundant, and catch-per-trip tends to be

less than the current trip limit of 1,500

lb (680.4 kg). Any significant changes in

landings would result from the

combined effects of shortening the

unlimited season and allowing more

unlimited days during the unlimited

season. Reducing the unlimited season

by one month will, in effect, reduce the

number of days of unlimited fishing by

about 12 days; adding unlimited days

during a given week within the shorter

unlimited season will add about 16 days

of unlimited fishing. Hence, the

expectation is for a small increase in the

annual commercial catch of Spanish

mackerel for all the trip limit changes in

aggregate.

The modification of MSY and the

incorporation into the FMP of biomassbased stock status determination criteria

includes: Setting the king mackerel

MSY at 9.4–14.5 million lb (4.3–6.6

million kg); setting the Spanish

mackerel MSY at 5.7– 7.5 million lb

(2.6–3.4 million kg); setting the fishing

mortality rate (MFMT) at 0.40 (=F30%

Static SPR) consistent with MSY;

establishing a Bmsy of 4.7–7.1 for king

Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 95 / Tuesday, May 16, 2000 / Proposed Rules 31135

mackerel and a Bmsy of 12.2–15.8 for

Spanish mackerel (the values represent

relative fecundity and are unitless); and,

setting the minimum stock size

threshold (MSST) at 4.0–6.1 for king

mackerel and at 8.5–11.1 for Spanish

mackerel (the values represent relative

fecundity and are unitless). The Council

also proposed revised definitions of

‘‘overfished’’ and ‘‘overfishing’’ for

Atlantic king and Spanish mackerel.

The stocks of Atlantic king and Spanish

mackerel are currently neither

overfished nor are undergoing

overfishing. This means that the

proposed MSY modifications and the

biomass-based status determination

criteria that would be added should

have no impact on the TACs proposed

by the Council and, hence, no economic

impact on small entities.

Other Findings None of the proposals

described above would result in

increased compliance costs of reporting

or record keeping. Also, there would be

no differential large business versus

small business impacts because the

entire population is composed of small

businesses. Additionally, the proposals

will not create new capital costs, and no

businesses are expected to have to cease

operations if the proposals are

implemented.

The overall determination resulting

from an examination of the proposed

changes individually and in aggregate is

that there is not expected to be a

significant economic impact on a

substantial number of the small entities

engaged in the commercial harvest or

for-hire sectors of the Atlantic group

king and Spanish mackerel fisheries.

As a result, a regulatory flexibility

analysis was not prepared.

List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 622

Fisheries, Fishing, Puerto Rico,

Reporting and recordkeeping

requirements, Virgin Islands.

Dated: May 10, 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 proposed

to be 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 § 622.39, paragraph (c)(1)(iii) is

revised to read as follows:

§ 622.39 Bag and possession limits.

* * * * *

(c) * * *

(1) * * *

(iii) Atlantic migratory group Spanish

mackerel—15.

* * * * *

3. In § 622.42, paragraphs (c)(1)(ii)

and (c)(2)(ii) are revised to read as

follows:

§ 622.42 Quotas.

* * * * *

(c) * * *

(1) * * *

(ii) Atlantic migratory group. The

quota for the Atlantic migratory group of

king mackerel is 3.71 million lb (1.68

million kg). No more than 0.40 million

lb (0.18 million kg) may be harvested by

purse seines.

* * * * *

(2) * * *

(ii) Atlantic migratory group. The

quota for the Atlantic migratory group of

Spanish mackerel is 3.87 million lb

(1.76 million kg).

* * * * *

4. In § 622.44, paragraph (a)(1)(iii) and

paragraphs (b)(1)(ii)(A) and (B) are

revised to read as follows:

§ 622.44 Commercial trip limits.

* * * * *

(a) * * *

(1) * * *

(iii) In the area between 28°47.8’ N.

lat. and 25°20.4’ N. lat., which is a line

directly east from the Miami-Dade/

Monroe County, FL, boundary, king

mackerel in or from the EEZ may not be

possessed on board or landed from a

vessel in a day in amounts exceeding 75

fish from April 1 through October 31.

* * * * *

(b) * * *

(1) * * *

(ii) * * *

(A) From April 1 through November

30, in amounts exceeding 3,500 lb

(1,588 kg).

(B) From December 1 until 75 percent

of the adjusted quota is taken, in

amounts as follows:

(1) Mondays through Fridays—

unlimited.

(2) Saturdays and Sundays—not

exceeding 1,500 lb (680 kg).

* * * * *

[FR Doc. 00–12295 Filed 5–15–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510–22–F