75232 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 232 / Friday, December 1, 2000 / Proposed Rules

3. Are there methods to increase

efficiency?

4. Will there be sufficient funding for

enforcement and prosecution?

C. Method and Means of Hunting

1. Will illegal takings be counted

against the two-strike Native harvest

limitation?

2. Will NMFS be able to stop Native

harvest of Cook Inlet beluga whales

under emergency circumstances by rule

making? Will there be a legal

mechanism to stop Native harvest of

Cook Inlet beluga whales in the event of

unrelated mortality that would affect the

population recovery?

3. Should juvenile whales be taken

instead of mature adults if it is shown

to enhance chances of population

recovery?

4. Should the proposed July 15 annual

commencement date for Native harvest

of beluga whales be moved forward to

July 1 in view of deteriorating weather

conditions?

D. Sale of Cook Inlet Beluga Whale

Products

1. Whether the term ‘‘sale’’ should

include barter and other types of quasicommercial transactions?

2. Should attempts to sell Cook Inlet

beluga whale products and/or foodstuff

be deemed a violation? Should the

purchase and attempts to purchase Cook

Inlet beluga whale products or foodstuff

be deemed a violation?

3. For enforcement purposes, should

the restriction on the sale of Cook Inlet

beluga whale products and/or foodstuff

be expanded to prohibit the sale of

products and/or foodstuff from other

beluga whale stock?

4. Should restrictions be in place for

all Cook Inlet beluga whale products, or

just edible portions?

E. Cultural Interests

1. Are there ways to encourage full

utilization of those belugas taken

pursuant to the proposed regulations?

2. Is there sufficient emphasis on the

importance of Native subsistence

harvest in terms of balancing in favor of

permitting the proposed harvest?

These issues are subject to change as

a result of stipulations of the

participants. NMFS and all parties have

submitted various documents and

written testimony that bears on these

issues.

During the hearing, the NOAA

Counsel will present his witnesses and

documentary evidence first, and the

participants will be given an

opportunity to cross-examine the

witnesses. The other parties listed above

will also be given an opportunity to

present witnesses and introduce

documentary evidence in the order in

which they are listed in this Notice of

Final Agenda. Witnesses in the hearing

include the following:

(1) For NMFS, Douglas P. DeMaster,

Ph.D., Director, National Marine

Mammal Laboratory, NMFS; P. Michael

Payne, Assistant Regional Administrator

for Protected Resources, NMFS;

(2) For Joel and Debra Blatchford:

These participants will testify on their

own behalf;

(3) For the Municipality of

Anchorage, the Mantanuska-Susitna

Borough, and the Kenai Peninsula

Borough: George Weurch, Mayor,

Municipality of Anchorage; John Duffy,

Acting Manager, Matanuska-Susitna

Borough; and Dale Bagley, Mayor, Kenai

Peninsula Borough;

(4) For Alaska Oil and Gas

Association (AOGA): Judith M. Brady,

Executive Director, AOGA;

(5) For the Marine Mammal

Commission: Daniel Goodman, Ph.D.,

Professor, Montana State University;

(6) For the village of Tyonek: Peter

Merryman, Chief, Village of Tyonek;

(7) For the Trustees for Alaska: Not

yet identified; and

(8) For Cook Inlet Treaty Tribes:

Delice calcote, Secretary, Cook Inlet

Marine Mammal Council.

Dated: November 27, 2000.

Don Knowles,

Director, Office of Protected Resources,

National Marine Fisheries Service.

[FR Doc. 00–30677 Filed 11–30–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510–22–S

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration

50 CFR Part 648

[Docket No. 001120324-0324-01; I.D.

110700D]

RIN 0648-AO71

Fisheries of the Northeastern United

States; Atlantic Sea Scallop Fishery;

Extension of Closed Areas

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),

Commerce.

ACTION: Proposed rule; request for

comments.

SUMMARY: This proposed rule would

extend the closure of the Hudson

Canyon South and Virginia Beach Sea

Scallop Closed Areas for 180 days or

until such time that a controlled area

access program for these two areas can

be implemented through Framework 14

to the Atlantic Sea Scallop Fishery

Management Plan (FMP), whichever is

sooner. This action, which is necessary

to reduce overfishing, would help

ensure that fishing mortality rates do

not exceed the target thresholds

established in the FMP.

DATES: Comments must be received no

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

January 2, 2001.

ADDRESSES: Comments on this proposed

rule should be sent to Patricia A.

Kurkul, Regional Administrator,

Northeast Regional Office, NMFS,1

Blackburn Drive, Gloucester, MA 01930-

2298. Please mark the envelope

‘‘Comments - Extension of Mid-Atlantic

Scallop Closed Areas.’’ Comments also

may be sent via facsimile (fax) to 978-

281-9135. Comments will not be

accepted if submitted via e-mail or

Internet. Comments regarding any

ambiguity or unnecessary complexity

arising from the language used in this

rule should also be sent to Patricia

Kurkul. Copies of the Environmental

Assessment/Regulatory Impact Review/

Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis

(EA/RIR/IRFA) and any other

documents supporting this action are

available from the Regional Office at the

address specified here.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Peter W. Christopher, Fishery Policy

Analyst, 978-281-9288, fax 978-281-

9135, e-mail

peter.christopher@noaa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 23rd

Northeast Regional Stock Assessment

Workshop (SAW 23), in March 1997,

identified high fishing mortality rates,

low stock size, and lack of significant

recruitment in the Atlantic sea scallop

(scallop) fishery. Based on this finding,

scientists involved with SAW 23

determined that fishing effort should be

reduced immediately and significantly

in the Mid-Atlantic region to preserve

spawning stock biomass and improve

the yield per recruit. To achieve this,

NMFS implemented an interim final

rule on April 3, 1998 (63 FR 15324), that

established two areas in the MidAtlantic region that were closed to all

scallop fishing. The closure of these two

areas, the Hudson Canyon South and

Virginia Beach Closed Areas, was based

on a finding that the areas contained

large concentrations of small and

juvenile scallops that could provide for

future recruitment. The interim final

rule was subsequently extended for 180

days (63 FR 51862, September 29, 1998)

and on March 29, 1999, Amendment 7

to the Atlantic Sea Scallop Fishery

Management Plan (FMP) (64 FR 14835)

Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 232 / Friday, December 1, 2000 / Proposed Rules 75233

extended the effective date of the

closures through March 1, 2001.

While there are still concentrations of

small scallops in the Hudson Canyon

South and Virginia Beach Closed Areas,

recent surveys by the NMFS Northeast

Fisheries Science Center and Virginia

Institute of Marine Science indicate that

a large portion of the protected scallops

have grown and could be of

considerable value to the fishing

industry. Because of the vulnerability of

these scallops to fishing upon the reopening of the closed areas on March 1,

2001, concern was expressed by

scientists in the recent Sea Scallop

Stock Assessment and Fishery

Evaluation report that a high amount of

fishing effort in these areas would

increase fishing mortality rates beyond

management thresholds, would

contribute to overfishing, and would

compromise future recruitment of

scallops. To address this concern, the

New England Fishery Management

Council (Council) is currently

developing Framework 14 to the FMP,

the annual framework adjustment, with

the intention of including an area access

program for the Mid-Atlantic closed

areas. This program would restrict

scallop vessels when fishing in the reopened Mid-Atlantic closed areas to a

scallop possession limit and a limited

amount of trips, among other measures.

Because the Council is preparing a

Supplemental Environmental Impact

Statement for Framework 14 to assess

the impacts of the fishery on the human

environment, it is highly unlikely that

the framework can be implemented by

March 1, 2001, the date that the MidAtlantic closed areas are scheduled to

re-open. An extension of the closures is

therefore necessary to ensure that the

areas do not open prior to protective

measures being in place. Without such

action, overfishing would likely occur

before Framework 14 can be

implemented, and the ability to

maximize scallop yields from the areas

and ensure that recruitment potential is

maintained could be compromised. If

that were to occur, long-term benefits to

the scallop fishery could be significantly

reduced.

Proposed Action

The proposed rule would delay the reopening of the Hudson Canyon South

and Virginia Beach scallop closed areas

for 180 days or until such time that new

measures to prevent overfishing in the

areas are implemented, whichever is

sooner. This action is authorized by

section 305(c) of the Magnuson-Stevens

Fishery Conservation and Management

Act and may be extended for an

additional 180-day period.

Classification

This proposed rule has been

determined to be not significant for

purposes of Executive Order 12866.

NMFS prepared an IRFA as part of an

RIR that describes the economic impact

this action, if adopted, would have on

small entities. A copy of the IRFA is

available from NMFS (see ADDRESSES).

A summary of the analysis follows:

The IRFA describes this action, sets

forth why it is being taken, and the legal

basis for it. A description of the action,

why it is being considered, and the legal

basis for this action appear in the

beginning of this section in the

preamble and in the SUMMARY section

and is not repeated here.

The IRFA considered the impacts that

this action will have on small entities,

which includes all holders of active

scallop permits, since none have

reported gross annual revenues greater

than $3 million. The 1999 fishing

season, March 1, 1999, to February 28,

2000, was the last full year of scallop

fishing activity available for analysis.

During that season, there were 345

qualified permits in the Limited Access

fishery. Two-hundred and ninety of

these permits were on vessels that

landed scallops. The remaining 55

Limited Access permits were in

Confirmation of Permit History, a

category of permit for vessels that were

destroyed or that were sold and the

permit eligibility retained by the seller.

In addition, 2,095 permits were issued

to vessels in the open access General

Category, but only 190 of these vessels

could be identified in the dealer reports

as having landed scallops. The proposed

action to extend the closures of the

Hudson Canyon South and Virginia

Beach Closed Areas for 180 days from

March 1, 2001, or until Framework 14

can be implemented (currently

estimated to be May 2001), whichever is

sooner, should have a positive net

impact on small business entities during

the next few years and is not expected

to impact segments of the fishery

differentially. Without this proposed

action, the most likely outcome would

be that Framework 14 would have to

prevent further access to these closed

areas during 2001 because the vessels

would have exceeded the target fishing

mortalities and total allowable catch by

the time Framework 14 becomes

effective. One alternative considered by

NMFS but rejected would have allowed

the Hudson Canyon South and Virginia

Beach Closed Areas to re-open, as

scheduled, on March 1, 2001. Under

this alternative, overfishing would

likely occur in the areas, and the ability

to maximize scallop yields from the

areas and ensure that recruitment

potential is maintained could be

compromised, thereby reducing longterm benefits to the scallop fishing

industry. Depending on the amount of

fishing that has occurred in the absence

of this interim action, access during the

2002 season might also have to be

reduced substantially in order to rebuild

the stock.

The proposed action is not expected

to reduce overall access to the closed

areas in 2001 and will protect the

growth potential of more young scallops

for 2002, provided that Framework 14 is

implemented in a timely fashion, as

anticipated by the Council. The Scallop

Plan Development Team (PDT), in

preparing analyses for Framework 14,

has estimated that each limited access

permit holder will be allocated between

three and five trips into the MidAtlantic areas, depending on their effort

category and the fishing mortality

scenario selected by the Council.

Although 10 days at sea would be

charged to each trip, the scallop

resource density in the areas to be reopened is high enough that trip limits

that meet fishing mortality targets may

be able to be taken in 3 to 5 days, as

estimated by the PDT. Thus, there may

still be time in the 2001 season for

vessels to fish in the re-opened areas

and to take their allotted limits.

Moreover, vessels would be free to use

their effort allocation outside the closed

areas until Framework 14 goes into

effect. Thus, any short-term negative

impacts caused by delaying the reopening of the two Mid-Atlantic areas to

scallop fishing are expected to be offset

by access to those areas in the

remainder of 2001 and by future

recruitment of scallops.

This proposed rule has no projected

reporting, recordkeeping, or compliance

requirements. Also, there are no

relevant Federal rules that may

duplicate, overlap, or conflict with the

proposed rule.

The President has directed Federal

agencies to use plain language in their

communications with the public,

including regulations. To comply with

this directive, we seek public comment

on any ambiguity or unnecessary

complexity arising from the language

used in this proposed rule. Such

comments should be sent to Patricia A.

Kurkul, Regional Administrator (see

ADDRESSES).

List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 648

Fisheries, Fishing, Reporting and

recordkeeping requirements.

75234 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 232 / Friday, December 1, 2000 / Proposed Rules

Dated: November 27, 2000.

Penelope D. Dalton,

Assistant Administrator for Fisheries,

National Marine Fisheries Service.

For the reasons set forth in the

preamble, 50 CFR part 648 is proposed

to be amended as follows:

PART 648—FISHERIES OF THE

NORTHEASTERN UNITED STATES

1. The authority citation for part 648

continues to read as follows:

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

2. In § 648.57, the first sentence of

paragraph (a) and (b) are revised to read

as follows:

§ 648.57 Closed areas.

(a) * * * No vessel may fish for,

possess, or retain sea scallops in or from

the area known as the Hudson Canyon

South Closed Area or transit this closed

area unless all scallop dredge gear on

board is properly stowed and not

available for immediate use in

accordance with the provisions of §

648.23(b). * * *

(b) * * * No vessel may fish for,

possess, or retain sea scallops in or from

the area known as the Virginia Beach

Closed Area or transit this closed area

unless all scallop dredge gear on board

is properly stowed and not available for

immediate use in accordance with the

provisions of § 648.23(b). * * *

[FR Doc. 00–30678 Filed 11–30–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE: 3510–22 –S