Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 38 / Wednesday, February 26, 1997 / Proposed Rules 8679

§ 630.7 Prohibitions.

* * * * *

(bb) Aboard a vessel for which a

directed swordfish handgear permit has

been issued under § 630.4, retain or

possess swordfish taken with gear other

than harpoon, rod and reel, or handline

and or to have longline or drift gillnet

gear on board. 5. Section 630.22 is

revised to read as follows:

§ 630.22 Gear Restrictions.

(a) Drift gillnet. A drift gillnet with a

total length of 2.5 km or more may not

be used to fish for swordfish. A vessel

using or having aboard a drift gillnet

with a total length of 2.5 km or more

may not possess a swordfish.

(b) Handgear. A vessel for which a

directed swordfish handgear permit has

been issued under § 630.4 may retain or

possess swordfish taken only with

harpoon, rod and reel, or handline and

must not have longline or drift gillnet

gear on board.

6. In § 630.24, paragraph (a) is revised

and paragraph (b)(1)(iii) is added to read

as follows:

§ 630.24 Quotas.

(a) Applicability. A swordfish

harvested from the North Atlantic

swordfish stock by a vessel of the

United States in other than the

recreational fishery is counted against

the directed fishery gear quota or the

bycatch quota. A swordfish harvested

commercially by longline, drift gillnet,

harpoon, rod and reel or handline and

landed before the effective date of a

closure for that gear, done pursuant to

§ 630.25(a)(1), is counted against the

applicable directed fishery gear quota.

After a gear closure, a swordfish landed

by a vessel using or possessing gear for

which bycatch is allowed under

§ 630.25(c) is counted against the

bycatch allocation specified in

paragraph (c) of this section.

Notwithstanding the above, a swordfish

harvested by a vessel using or

possessing gear other than longline, drift

gillnet, harpoon, rod and reel or

handline is counted against the bycatch

quota specified in paragraph (c) of this

section at all times.

(b) * * *

(1) * * *

(iii) A quota equivalent to 2 percent

of the directed fishery quota will be setaside for holders of the directed

handgear permit during each

semiannual period. Any unused portion

of the set-aside quota will be returned

to the directed fishery allocation by the

end of September (the end of the

handgear season) of each year.

* * * * *

7. In § 630.25, the first sentence in

paragraph (c)(2)(ii) is amended by

removing the numeral ‘‘15’’ and by

adding the numeral ‘‘5’’ in its place, and

paragraph (d) introductory text is

revised to read as follows:

§ 630.25 Closures and bycatch limits.

* * * * *

(d) Bycatch limits in the non-directed

fishery. Aboard a vessel using or having

aboard gear other than longline, drift

gillnet, harpoon, rod and reel or

handline, other than in the recreational

fishery—

* * * * *

[FR Doc. 97–4658 Filed 2–21–97; 12:08 pm]

BILLING CODE 3510–22–F

50 CFR Part 678

[I.D. 121196A]

Atlantic Shark Fisheries; Limited

Access Program; Extension of

Comment Period

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),

Commerce.

ACTION: Extension of comment period.

SUMMARY: NMFS extends the comment

period for a proposed rule and

Amendment 1 to the Fishery

Management Plan for Atlantic Sharks

(FMP) to implement the limited access

system. The proposed rule was

published in the Federal Register on

December 27, 1996. The proposed rule

would establish a two-tiered permit

system for the Atlantic shark

commercial fishery, set forth eligibility

criteria for these permits based on

historical participation, and limit the

transferability of such permits.

DATES: Written comments on the

proposed rule must be received on or

before April 28, 1997.

ADDRESSES: Written comments should

be sent to William T. Hogarth, Chief,

Highly Migratory Species Management

Division (F/SF1), Office of Sustainable

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries

Service, 1315 East-West Highway, Room

14853, Silver Spring, MD 20910.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: John

Kelly or Margo Schulze at 301-713-2347;

fax 301–713–1917.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: NMFS has

received requests from the affected

public that more time is necessary to

submit their comments on the Atlantic

shark fishery proposed rule and FMP

amendment to implement limited access

(61 FR 68202, December 27, 1996). The

extension in comment period will

ensure that this proposed rule can be

examined in conjunction with the

proposed rule for limited access in the

swordfish fishery, which is being

published on the same date as this

notice. The public has informed NMFS

that it is essential to examine both

proposals simultaneously in order to

determine the net effect of the two

proposed limited access systems.

The proposed rule, as published,

would establish a two-tiered permit

system for the Atlantic shark

commercial fishery, set forth eligibility

criteria for these permits based on

historical participation, and limit the

transferability of such permits. NMFS

has determined that the Atlantic shark

fishery is overfished and

overcapitalized, with an excessive

number of permitted vessels relative to

the harvest level prescribed by the

recovery plan.

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

Dated: February 19, 1997.

Gary Matlock,

Acting Assistant Administrator for Fisheries,

National Marine Fisheries Service.

[FR Doc. 97–4656 Filed 2–20–97; 5:05 pm]

BILLING CODE 3510–22–F