[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 177 (Friday, September 12, 1997)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 48047-48048]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-24202]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 648

[Docket No. 970828210-7210-01; I.D. 080697H]
RIN 0648-AK37


Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Atlantic Mackerel, 
Squid, and Butterfish Fisheries; Control Date for Atlantic Mackerel

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.

ACTION: Advance notice of proposed rulemaking; notice of control date 
for the Atlantic mackerel fishery.

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SUMMARY: NMFS announces that anyone entering the commercial Atlantic 
mackerel fishery after September 12, 1997 (control date) will not be 
assured of future access to the Atlantic mackerel resource in Federal 
waters if a management regime is developed and implemented under the 
Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-
Stevens Act) that limits the number of participants in the fishery. 
This announcement is intended to promote awareness of potential 
eligibility criteria for future access to the commercial Atlantic 
mackerel fishery and to discourage new entries into this fishery based 
on economic speculation, while the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management 
Council (Council) contemplates whether and how access to that portion 
of the Atlantic mackerel fishery in Federal waters should be 
controlled. The potential eligibility criteria may be based on 
historical participation, defined as any number of trips having any 
documented amount of Atlantic mackerel landings. If such a regime is 
implemented, fishery participants may need to preserve records that 
substantiate and verify their participation in the Atlantic mackerel 
fishery in Federal waters.

DATES: Comments must be submitted by October 14, 1997.

ADDRESSES: Comments should be directed to David R. Keifer, Executive 
Director, Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council, 300 South New 
Street, Dover, DE 19904.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Myles Raizin, Fishery Policy Analyst, 
508-281-9104.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    Atlantic mackerel (Scomber scombrus) is a migratory species that 
supports important recreational and commercial fisheries along the 
Atlantic coast of the United States and Canada. The Fishery Management 
Plan for Atlantic Mackerel, Squid, and Butterfish (FMP) was developed 
by the Council to provide for the development of the U.S. Atlantic 
mackerel, squid, and butterfish fisheries. An initial notice 
establishing a control date of August 13, 1992, was issued for the 
Atlantic mackerel, squid, and butterfish fisheries (57 FR 36384, August 
13, 1992), which stated that as of that date no vessel would be 
guaranteed entry into a limited access fishery, if the Council chose to 
implement one. This control date was rescinded for Atlantic mackerel on 
September 27, 1994 (59 FR 49235), because the Council and NMFS believed 
that information regarding biomass levels, fishing levels, fishing 
effort, and catch indicated that the mackerel fishery would not require 
limited-entry management in the foreseeable future. Removal of the 
control date also removed a barrier to access to this underutilized 
resource to vessel owners who were facing severe restrictions in other 
Northeast fisheries. In Amendment 5 to the FMP, the Council included a 
provision that would require the Secretary of Commerce to publish a 
control date for the Atlantic mackerel fishery when commercial landings 
reached 50 percent of allowable biological catch (ABC). NMFS did not

[[Page 48048]]

include this provision in the proposed rule because, as explained in 
the preamble to that rule (60 FR 65618, December 20, 1995), it was not 
considered to be a management measure to be implemented by regulation. 
Rather, it was viewed as a statement of Council intent. NMFS further 
noted that the Council could recommend the publication of a notice of 
control date when it deemed the action necessary. At its May 1997 
meeting, the Council requested that NMFS issue an advance notice of 
proposed rulemaking reestablishing a control date for Atlantic 
mackerel. The Council stated that such action by NMFS would discourage 
new entries into the fishery based on economic speculation while the 
Council considers a limited access system for the fishery. The Council 
intends to consider, in the near future, a management program that 
would control the rate of capitalization in the fishery and promote the 
diversification of existing fishermen in the Atlantic mackerel 
industry.
    Discussion of reinstatement of a control date was prompted by news 
that a large factory trawler was undergoing conversion to enter this 
fishery. Council members noted that, although the fishery is currently 
underexploited, a substantial increase in exploitation could be 
effected in a short period of time by the introduction of a factory 
trawler fleet. To prevent overcapitalization, Council members expressed 
the need to implement a management program for this fishery that 
allowed for controlled expansion. Amendment 5 to the FMP estimated that 
the hold capacity for vessels issued Atlantic mackerel, squid, and 
butterfish permits approached 50,000 mt if each vessel made just one 
trip at full capacity. Although all of these vessels do not have an 
interest or ability to expand into the mackerel fishery, there is a 
high level of existing capital in the region. The Council members noted 
that this capital, along with the possible addition of factory 
trawlers, raised concerns because the current estimate of long-term 
potential yield for this fishery is 150,000 mt. Further, both NMFS and 
the Council have indicated that first preference for entry into this 
fishery should be afforded to Northeast region vessels as an 
alternative to traditional fisheries that have been severely 
overfished. For these reasons, the Council voted to request publication 
of a control date for Atlantic mackerel.
    At the May 1997 meeting, the Council committed to begin work 
shortly on Amendment 7 to the FMP. Amendment 7 would address whether 
and how to limit entry of commercial vessels into this fishery. 
Publication of a control date is intended to discourage speculative 
entry into the Atlantic mackerel fishery while potential management 
regimes to control access into the fishery are discussed and possibly 
developed by the Council. Establishment of a control date will help to 
distinguish established participants from speculative entrants to the 
fishery. Although participants are notified that entering the fishery 
after the control date will not assure them of future access to the 
Atlantic mackerel resource on the grounds of previous participation, 
additional and/or other qualifying criteria also may be applied. The 
Council may choose different and variably weighted methods to qualify 
fishermen, based on the type and length of participation in the fishery 
or on the quantity of landings.
    This notice hereby establishes September 12, 1997 for potential use 
in determining historical or traditional participation in the Atlantic 
mackerel fishery. This action does not commit the Council to develop 
any particular management regime or to use any specific criteria for 
determining entry to the fishery. The Council may choose a different 
control date, or may choose a management program that does not make use 
of such a date. The Council may choose also to take no further action 
to control entry or access to the fishery. Any action by the Council 
will be taken pursuant to the requirement for FMP development 
established under the Magnuson-Stevens Act.

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

    Dated: September 5, 1997.
David L. Evans,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries 
Service
[FR Doc. 97-24202 Filed 9-12-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-F