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[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 226 (Monday, November 24, 1997)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 62543-62545]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-30805]

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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 648

[Docket No. 971112268-7268-01; I.D. 102997E]

Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Proposed 1998 
Fishing Quotas for Atlantic Surf Clams and Ocean Quahogs

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

ACTION: Proposed fishing quotas for the 1998 Atlantic surf clam and 
ocean quahog fisheries; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: NMFS proposes quotas for the Atlantic surf clam and ocean 
quahog fisheries for 1998. These quotas were selected from a range 
defined as optimum yield (OY) for each fishery and in compliance with 
overfishing definitions for each species. The intent of this action is 
to establish allowable harvests of surf clams and ocean quahogs from 
the exclusive economic zone in 1998.

DATES: Public comments must be received on or before December 24, 1997.

ADDRESSES: Copies of the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council's 
analysis

[[Page 62544]]

and recommendations, including the Environmental Assessment and the 
Regulatory Impact Review/Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis, are 
available from David R. Keifer, Executive Director, Mid-Atlantic 
Fishery Management Council, Room 2115, Federal Building, 300 South New 
Street, Dover, DE 19901-6790.
    Send comments to: Andrew A. Rosenberg, Regional Administrator, 
Northeast Region, NMFS, 1 Blackburn Drive, Gloucester, MA 01930-2298. 
Mark on the outside of the envelope, ``Comments--1998 Surf Clam and 
Ocean Quahog quotas.''

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

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Fishery Management Plan for the Atlantic 
Surf Clam and Ocean Quahog Fisheries (FMP) directs the Assistant 
Administrator for Fisheries, in consultation with the Mid-Atlantic 
Fishery Management Council (Council), to specify quotas for surf clams 
and ocean quahogs on an annual basis from a range that represents the 
OY for each fishery. It is the policy of the Council that the level 
selected allow fishing to continue at that level for at least 10 years 
for surf clams and 30 years for ocean quahogs. While staying within 
this constraint, the quotas would be set at a level that would meet the 
estimated market demand.
    The fishing quotas must be in compliance with overfishing 
definitions for each species. The overfishing definitions are fishing 
mortality rates of F20 (20 percent of maximum 
spawning potential (MSP)) for surf clams and F25 (25 
percent of MSP) for ocean quahogs.

Surf Clams

    The Council recommends a 1998 fishing quota of 2.565 million 
bushels for surf clams, unchanged from the 1996 and 1997 quotas. The 
Council staff recommended a surf clam quota of 2.565 million bushels 
based on management advice from the Stock Assessment Review Committee 
for the 22nd Northeast Regional Stock Assessment Workshop (SAW 22), 
which recommended no change from the 1996-97 quotas of 2.565 million 
bushels until a new stock assessment is available with abundance 
estimates based on fishery catch rate and research survey data. The 
results of the 1997 surf clam and ocean quahog survey will not be 
available for the 1998 fishery.

Ocean Quahogs

    The Council recommends an ocean quahog fishing quota of 4 million 
bushels, a 317,000 bushel reduction from the 1997 quota of 4.317 
million bushels. This quota level is the lowest possible within the 
range of 4 and 6 million bushels as specified in the FMP. The Council, 
in making this recommendation, questioned the validity of assuming that 
all of the Georges Bank biomass will become available to the fishery 
over the course of the 30-year harvest period. A notice of closure of 
the Georges Bank area to fishing for surf clams or ocean quahogs was 
published on February 1, 1991 (56 FR 3980). The closure was implemented 
due to the appearance of high levels of the organism responsible for 
paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP). The area will remain closed until 
the Secretary of Commerce determines that the adverse environmental 
conditions caused by the PSP toxin are no longer present. In 1996, when 
the Council made the assumption of a reopening occurring in the Georges 
Bank area, it stated that additional quota reductions would be 
necessary in the future if demonstrable progress is not made toward a 
reopening of Georges Bank in the near future. The SAW 22 did not offer 
management advice on the ocean quahog quota. However, it noted that a 
30-year supply as dictated by Council policy is possible only if the 
estimated biomass on Georges Bank and in areas off Southern New England 
and Long Island, generally too deep to be harvested with current 
technology, is included. Furthermore, it cautioned that this strategy 
implies that sustainable fishing after 30 years will be limited to 
recruitment and a very slow annual growth of fully recruited quahogs. 
Noting the SAW 22 advice, the Science and Statistical (S&S) Committee 
was concerned with the issue of refugia. It suggested that the Council 
request the next SAW for surf clams and quahogs to consider the 
importance of refugia to new recruitment by examining biological and 
economic aspects for three scenarios: No refugia, Georges Bank only, 
and Georges Bank and the deep offshore unfished areas. The Council 
adopted this recommendation and passed a motion to request the next SAW 
to add this to its ``Terms of Reference.''
    In proposing these quotas, the Council considered the most recent 
available stock assessments, data reported by harvesters and 
processors, and other relevant information concerning exploitable 
biomass and spawning biomass, fishing mortality rates, stock 
recruitment, projected effort and catches, and areas closed to fishing. 
This information was presented in a written report prepared by the 
Council and adopted by the Regional Administrator, Northeast Region, 
NMFS.
    NMFS, in 1996, approved overfishing definitions for surf clams and 
ocean quahogs. The overfishing threshold for surf clams is a fishing 
mortality rate (F) of F20. This translates roughly 
to F = 0.18 for surf clams (15.3 percent exploitation rate). The F in 
1997 associated with a quota of 2.565 million bushels was approximately 
equal to 0.12 for all areas. The specific F associated with the 1998 
surf clam quota will be able to be calculated when the new assessment 
is complete, but will be roughly the same as the estimated F in 1997 
for all areas. The overfishing threshold for ocean quahogs is 
F25, yielding F = 0.04 (4.3 percent exploitation 
rate). The 1997 ocean quahog quota yielded an F of approximately 0.032. 
The specific F associated with the 1998 quota will be calculated when 
the new assessment is complete and will be slightly less than the F in 
1997 since the quota is slightly reduced. Therefore, the proposed 
quotas for both fisheries are below the approved overfishing threshold 
definitions.
    At its August 1997 meeting, the Council rejected its staff 
recommendations of 2.565 million bushels for the 1998 surf clam quota 
and of 4.317 million bushels for the 1998 ocean quahog quota. Instead, 
the Council submitted to NMFS a surf clam quota recommendation of 2.3 
million bushels, a 10-percent decrease from the 1997 surf clam quota 
and of 4 million bushels for ocean quahogs, a 317,000-bushel reduction 
from the 1997 quota of 4.317 million bushels. The recommendation to 
reduce the surf clam quota came as a result of testimony given by a 
segment of the industry in which they argued that a decline in consumer 
demand for surf clam products had depressed prices and increased 
inventories for a portion of the industry. In their argument to reduce 
quota, they invoked the Council's surf clam policy of ``meeting 
estimated demand.'' In response to the August surf clam and quahog 
recommendations, several industry representatives, many of whom were 
not present at the August meeting, protested. This group solicited the 
Council to reconsider the quota recommendations. In addition, letters 
to the Council from the New England Fishery Management Council and from 
a major processor also expressed concern over reducing the surf clam 
quota to meet the estimated demand.
    The Council voted to reconsider the surf clam quota recommendation 
at its

[[Page 62545]]

September meeting. This resulted in a surf clam quota recommendation of 
2.565 million bushels, as initially recommended by the Council staff 
and SAW 22. The ocean quahog quota recommendation remained unchanged at 
4 million bushels. The rationale for the reduction in this quota is 
biologically based, and the recommendation was not reconsidered at the 
September Council meeting.
    The proposed quotas for the 1998 Atlantic surf clam and ocean 
quahog fisheries are as follows:

Proposed 1998 SURF CLAM/Ocean QUAHOG Quotas

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                  1998 final  1998 final
                     Fishery                        quotas      quotas  
                                                     (bu)        (hL)   
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Surf clam.......................................   2,565,000   1,362,000
Ocean quahog....................................   4,000,000   2,122,000
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Classification

    This action is authorized by 50 CFR part 648, complies with the 
National Environmental Policy Act, and has been determined to be not 
significant for purposes of E.O. 12866.
    The Council prepared an Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis 
(IRFA), as part of the Regulatory Impact Review (RIR), that describes 
the impact the proposed specification, if adopted, would have on small 
entities. The proposed 1998 fishing quota for surf clams of 2.565 
million bushels is unchanged from the 1996 and 1997 quotas. This quota 
is based on management advice from the Stock Assessment Review 
Committee for the 22nd Northeast Regional Stock Assessment Workshop, 
which recommended no change in the quotas until a new stock assessment 
is available with abundance estimates based on fishery catch rate and 
research survey data.
    The proposed 1998 fishing quota for ocean quahogs of 4.000 million 
bushels is a 317,000 bushel reduction from the 1997 quota of 4.317 
million bushels, a decrease of 7.3 percent. This Council quota 
recommendation reflects the lowest quota specification possible within 
the range of 4.000 and 6.000 million bushels specified in the fishery 
management plan. The Council staff recommendation for quahogs was to 
maintain the 1997 quota of 4.317 million bushels. The Science and 
Statistics and the Surf Clam and Ocean Quahog Committees of the Council 
both endorsed the staff recommendation. However, the Council's 
rationale for the reduction of the ocean quahog quota is biologically 
based and involves the conservation of the resource and preservation of 
the fishery.
    All of the 56 vessels participating in the surf clam and ocean 
quahog fisheries in 1996 are small entities. Twenty fished exclusively 
for surf clams, 14 fished for surf clams and ocean quahogs, and 22 
fished exclusively for ocean quahogs. The proposed quota for the ocean 
quahog fishery for 1998 is 7.3 percent less than the quotas for both 
1996 and 1997. Because 22 of the 36 vessels participating in the ocean 
quahog fishery (61 percent) harvest ocean quahog only, it is assumed 
that most or all of those vessels will have a reduction of 5 percent or 
more in ex-vessel revenues in 1998 compared to 1996, the most recent 
year for which data are complete. Meanwhile, the analyses indicate that 
no vessels will cease operations and compliance costs will not increase 
total costs of production of more than 5 percent for 20 percent or more 
of the affected small entities as a result of the proposed 
specifications. A copy of the RIR/IRFA is available from the Council 
(see ADDRESSES).

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

    Dated: November 18, 1997.
David L. Evans,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries 
Service.
[FR Doc. 97-30805 Filed 11-21-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P
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