75912 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 234 / Tuesday, December 5, 2000 / Proposed Rules

experiment. It is hoped that the newly

trained sea samplers would be available

to support other programs at the

completion of the proposed experiment.

EFPs would be issued to two

participating federally permitted

Northeast multispecies vessels to

exempt them from the gear restrictions

and, if necessary, the GOM seasonal

area closures of the Northeast

Multispecies Fishery Management Plan,

found at 50 CFR part 648, subpart F.

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

Dated: November 28, 2000.

Bruce C. Morehead,

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service.

[FR Doc. 00–30820 Filed 12–4–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510–22–S

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration

50 CFR Parts 600 and 648

[Docket No. 001127331-0331-01; I.D. No.

102600B]

RIN 0648-AN69

Magnuson-Stevens Act Provisions;

Foreign Fishing and Fisheries of the

Northeastern United States; Atlantic

Mackerel, Squid, and Butterfish

Fisheries; 2001 Specifications and

Foreign Fishing Restrictions

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),

Commerce.

ACTION: Proposed 2001 initial

specifications; request for comments.

SUMMARY: NMFS proposes initial

specifications for the 2001 fishing year

for Atlantic mackerel, squid, and

butterfish (MSB). Regulations governing

these fisheries require NMFS to publish

specifications for the upcoming fishing

year and to provide an opportunity for

public comment. The intent of this

action is to fulfill this requirement and

to promote the development and

conservation of the MSB resources. This

action also proposes an inseason

adjustment procedure for the 2001

mackerel joint venture processing (JVP)

annual specifications and a proposal to

allocate the domestic annual harvest

(DAH) for Loligo squid into quarterly

periods.

DATES: Public comments must be

received no later than 5 p.m., eastern

standard time, on January 4, 2001.

ADDRESSES: Comments on the proposed

specifications should be sent to: Patricia

A. Kurkul, Regional Administrator,

Northeast Regional Office, NMFS, One

Blackburn Drive, Gloucester, MA 01930-

2298. Please mark the envelope,

‘‘Comments-2001 MSB Specifications.’’

Comments also may be sent via

facsimile (fax) to 978-281-9135.

Comments will not be accepted if

submitted via e-mail or Internet.

Copies of supporting documents used

by the Mid-Atlantic Fishery

Management Council, including the

Environmental Assessment and

Regulatory Impact Review (RIR)/Initial

Regulatory Flexibility Analysis (IRFA),

are available from: Daniel Furlong,

Executive Director, Mid-Atlantic

Fishery Management Council, Room

2115, Federal Building, 300 South New

Street, Dover, DE 19904-6790.

Send comments on any ambiguity or

unnecessary complexity arising from the

language used in this proposed rule to

Patricia A. Kurkul, Regional

Administrator.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Paul

H. Jones, Fishery Policy Analyst

(978)281-9273, fax 978-281-9135, e-mail

paul.h.jones@noaa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Regulations implementing the Fishery

Management Plan for the Atlantic

Mackerel, Squid, and Butterfish

Fisheries (FMP), prepared by the MidAtlantic Fishery Management Council

(Council), appear at 50 CFR part 648,

subpart B. Regulations governing foreign

fishing appear at 50 CFR part 600,

subpart F. These regulations, at §§

600.516(c) and 648.21, require that

NMFS, based on the maximum

optimum yield (Max OY) of each fishery

as established by the regulations,

annually publish a proposed rule

specifying the initial amounts of the

initial optimum yield (IOY), as well as

the amounts for allowable biological

catch (ABC), DAH, domestic annual

processing (DAP), JVP, and total

allowable levels of foreign fishing

(TALFF) for the affected species

managed under the FMP. The

regulations also specify that there will

be no JVP or TALFF specified for Loligo,

Illex, or butterfish, except that a

butterfish bycatch TALFF will be

specified if TALFF is specified for

Atlantic mackerel. Procedures for

determining the initial annual amounts

are found in § 648.21.

In addition to the annual

specifications for each of the four

species managed under the FMP, the

Council recommended that, for several

species managed by the Council, 2

percent of the 2001 total allowable

landings (TAL) for each of these species

be set aside for data collection purposes.

Because no TAL is specified for Atlantic

mackerel, squid, and butterfish, TAL is

considered equivalent to IOY. The

deduction would occur no later than

December 31, 2000, upon notification to

the Northeast Regional Administrator

that the Council, in consultation with

the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries

Commission, has approved a specific

data collection project that would use

the set-aside allocation. If a project is

not approved before December 31, 2000,

then a set-aside deduction from the TAL

would not occur. However, the set-aside

recommendation cannot become

effective until the Council adopts a

framework measure, which in turn, is

approved by NMFS, to establish the

regulatory underpinnings of the process

to allocate the set-aside.

Table 1 contains the proposed initial

specifications for the 2001 Atlantic

mackerel, Loligo and Illex squids, and

butterfish fisheries.

TABLE 1. PROPOSED INITIAL ANNUAL SPECIFICATIONS, IN METRIC TONS (MT), FOR ATLANTIC MACKEREL, SQUID, AND

BUTTERFISH FOR THE FISHING YEAR JANUARY 1 THROUGH DECEMBER 31, 2001.

Specifications

Squid Atlantic

Mackerel Butterfish

Loligo Illex

Max OY 26,000 24,000 N/A1 16,000

ABC 17,000 24,000 347,000 7,200

IOY 17,0006 24,0006 88,0002,6 5,9006

DAH 17,000 24,000 85,0003 5,897

DAP 17,000 24,000 50,000 5,897

JVP 0 0 20,0004 0

Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 234 / Tuesday, December 5, 2000 / Proposed Rules 75913

TABLE 1. PROPOSED INITIAL ANNUAL SPECIFICATIONS, IN METRIC TONS (MT), FOR ATLANTIC MACKEREL, SQUID, AND

BUTTERFISH FOR THE FISHING YEAR JANUARY 1 THROUGH DECEMBER 31, 2001.—Continued

Specifications

Squid Atlantic

Mackerel Butterfish

Loligo Illex

TALFF 0 0 3,000 35

1 Not applicable. 2 OY may be increased during the year, but the total ABC will not exceed 347,000 mt 3 Includes 15,000 mt of Atlantic mackerel recreational allocation. 4 JVP may be increased up to 30,000 mt at discretion of RA. 5 Bycatch TALFF specified at § 648.21(b)(3)(ii). 6 If a 2 percent research set-aside is deducted, the total IOY would be as follows: Atlantic mackerel - 86,240 mt, Loligo - 16,660 mt, Illex -

23,520 mt, and butterfish - 5,782 mt.

2001 Proposed Specifications

Atlantic Mackerel

Overfishing for Atlantic mackerel is

defined by the FMP to occur when the

catch associated with a threshold

fishing mortality rate (F) of FMSY (the

F that produces MSY (maximum

sustainable yield)) is exceeded. When

spawning stock biomass (SSB) is greater

than 890,000 mt, the overfishing limit is

FMSY (0.45), and the target F is 0.25. To

avoid low levels of recruitment, the

FMP adopted a control rule whereby the

threshold F decreases linearly from 0.45

at 890,000 mt SSB to zero at 225,000 mt

SSB (1/4 of the biomass level that would

produce MSY on a continuing basis

(BMSY)), and the target F decreases

linearly from 0.25 at 890,000 mt SSB to

zero at 450,000 mt SSB (1/2 BMSY).

Annual quotas are specified that

correspond to the target F resulting from

this control rule.

Since SSB is currently above 890,000

mt, the target F for 2001 is 0.25. The

yield associated with that target F at the

estimated stock size is 369,000 mt. The

ABC recommendation of 347,000 mt

represents the F=0.25 yield estimate of

369,000 mt, minus the estimated

Canadian catch of 22,000 mt. The

proposed IOY for the 2001 Atlantic

mackerel fishery is 88,000 mt, which is

equal to the proposed DAH plus TALFF.

The specification for DAH is computed

by calculating the estimated recreational

catch, the proposed DAP and JVP. The

recreational catch component of DAH is

estimated to be 15,000 mt. DAP and JVP

components of DAH have historically

been estimated using the Council’s

annual processor survey, which is

intended to obtain estimates of

processing capacity in the domestic and

joint venture (JV) fisheries. However, for

the years 1994 through 2001, response

to this voluntary survey was low and

did not contain projections from some

large processors. The Council still

believes, based on the best data

available, that the capacity of the

domestic fleet to harvest mackerel

greatly exceeds the domestic processors

capacity to process mackerel.

Additionally, the Council generally

agreed that JVs have had a positive

impact on the development of the U.S.

Atlantic mackerel fishery. This assertion

led to the Council recommendation that

JVP be set at 20,000 mt in 2001 (10,000

mt more than 1999 and 2000; 5,000 mt

more than in 1998; and 5,000 mt less

than in 1997).

The Council has recommended, and

NMFS proposes, a specification of

20,000 mt of JVP for the 2001 fishery,

with a possible increase to 30,000 mt

later in the year. If additional

applications for JVP are received, NMFS

could increase this allocation to 30,000

mt by publishing notification in the

Federal Register. The Council also

recommended, and NMFS proposes, a

DAP of 50,000 mt, yielding a DAH of

85,000 mt, which includes the 15,000-

mt recreational catch component.

A TALFF of 3,000 mt is recommended

by the Council and proposed by NMFS

for the 2001 Atlantic mackerel fishery.

Several foreign nations have expressed

their interest in JVP, with two

applications already submitted by

Lithuania and the Russian Federation.

TALFF, which is foreign fishing, rather

than just processing by foreign vessels,

would be authorized only if U.S. vessels

are unable to deliver product to foreign

JV catcher/processor vessels for a period

of time due to events such as bad

weather. The Council’s intent is to

encourage JV fisheries by allowing

TALFF in special circumstances.

As authorized by §§ 600.501 and

600.520(b)(2)(ii), the Council also

recommended, and NMFS proposes,

that several special conditions be

imposed on the 2001 Atlantic mackerel

fishery, as follows: (1) JVs would be

allowed south of 37° 30′ N. lat., but river

herring bycatch may not exceed 0.25

percent of the over-the-side transfers of

Atlantic mackerel; (2) directed foreign

fishing for Atlantic mackerel would be

prohibited south of 37° 30′ N. lat., north

of 37° 30′ N. lat., directed foreign fishing

for Atlantic mackerel would be

prohibited landward of a line 20

nautical miles from shore and no

bycatch TALFF of river herring is

specified; (3) the Administrator,

Northeast Region, NMFS (Regional

Administrator) should ensure that

impacts on marine mammals are

reduced in the prosecution of the

Atlantic mackerel fishery; (4) the

mackerel optimum yield (OY) may be

increased during the year, but the total

should not exceed 347,000 mt; (5)

applications from a particular nation for

a Atlantic mackerel JV or TALFF

allocation for 2001 may be based on an

evaluation by the Regional

Administrator of that nation’s

performances relative to purchase

obligations for previous years; (6) no

purchase ratios would be specified;

upon approval of an application for

TALFF, 50 percent of the foreign

nation’s TALFF allotment would be

released; additional TALFF would be

released only when the foreign

participant has purchased 25 percent of

the JVP allotment to that nation; (7)

foreign fishing vessels (FFV) would be

required to purchase JVP-caught fish

from contracted U.S. vessels; if a FFV

were engaged in directed fishing and is

approached by a contracted U.S. vessel,

the FFV would be required to cease

directed fishing and take the transfer

from the U.S. vessel as soon as

practicable; (8) no in-season adjustment

in TALFF (i.e., TALFF not to exceed

3,000 mt) would be authorized, unless

the Regional Administrator, with

concurrence of the Council, determined

that it is appropriate to increase IOY to

provide additional TALFF, but the

TALFF should not exceed a cap of 5,000

mt; an (9) directed foreign fishing for

Atlantic mackerel would be limited to

the use of mid-water trawl gear.

Atlantic Squids

Loligo

The FMP defines overfishing for

Loligo as occurring when the catch

associated with a threshold of the

75914 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 234 / Tuesday, December 5, 2000 / Proposed Rules

fishing mortality that produces the

maximum sustainable level of yield per

recruit (FMAX) is exceeded (FMAX is a

proxy for FMSY). When an estimate of

FMSY becomes available, it will replace

the current overfishing proxy FMAX.

Max OY is specified as the catch

associated with a FMAX. In addition, the

biomass target is specified as BMSY.

The most recent stock assessment for

Loligo (the 29th Northeast Regional

Stock Assessment Workshop, August

1999 (SAW-29)) concluded that the

stock is approaching an overfished

condition and that overfishing is

occurring. More recently, NMFS’ Report

to Congress: Status of Fisheries of the

United States (October 1999)

determined that the Loligo stock is

overfished.

The Magnuson-Stevens Fishery

Conservation and Management Act

requires the Council to take remedial

action to rebuild an overfished stock to

a level that will produce BMSY. The

control rule in the FMP specifies that

the target F must be reduced to zero if

biomass falls below 50 percent of BMSY.

The target F increases linearly to 75

percent of FMSY as biomass increases to

BMSY. However, projections made in

SAW-29 indicate that the Loligo control

rule appears to be overly conservative.

The projections from SAW 29 indicated

that the Loligo biomass could be rebuilt

to levels approximating Bmsy in three

years if fishing mortality was reduced to

the target mortality rate specified in

Amendment 8 of 75 percent of FMSY.

The yield associated with this fishing

mortality rate (75 percent of FMSY) in

2000, assuming status quo F in 1999,

was estimated to be 11,732 mt in SAW

29. The current regulations still specify

Max OY as the yield associated FMAX, or

26,000 mt. In determining the

specification of ABC for the year 2000,

the Council considered advice offered

by SAW 29 which indicated that the

control rule adopted in Amendment 8

was too conservative. Model projections

presented in the most recent assessment

demonstrated that the stock could be

rebuilt in a relatively short period of

time, even at fishing mortality rates

approaching FMSY. Based on the SAW

29 projections, the Council chose to

specify ABC as the yield associated with

90 percent FMSY or 13,000 mt in 2000.

The most recent survey data for Loligo

squid indicate that abundance of this

species has increased significantly since

the most recent assessment was

conducted (i.e., SAW-29). Estimates of

biomass based on NMFS’ Northeast

Fisheries Science Center (NEFSC) fall

1999 and spring 2000 survey indices for

Loligo indicate that the stock is

currently at or near Bmsy. In fact, the

1999 fall survey index was the sixth

highest value observed in the time series

since 1967 and the second highest since

1987. The 2000 spring survey index for

Loligo was the tenth highest in the time

series since 1968 and the fifth highest

since 1987. Based on the assumption

that the stock will be at or near BMSY in

2001, the Council recommended that

the 2001 quota be specified as the yield

associated with 75 percent of FMSY. The

yield associated with 75 percent of FMSY

at BMSY is 17,000 mt, based on

projections in SAW-29. The

establishment of quarterly allocation

periods spreads F out over the fishing

year and is expected to protect

spawners. The current regulations still

specify Max OY as the yield associated

with FMAX, or 26,000 mt.

Thus, the proposed Max OY for Loligo

is 26,000 mt and the recommended ABC

for the 2001 fishery is 17,000 mt. NMFS

issued a notification in the Federal

Register on October 10, 2000 (65 FR

60118), announcing an inseason action

to adjust the 2000 annual specifications

for Loligo squid, including ABC, IOY,

DAH and DAP, from 13,000 mt to

15,000 mt. Therefore, the 2001 annual

specifications represent an increase of

2,000 mt from the 2000 ABC of 15,000

mt. This ABC is based on the NEFSC fall

1999 and spring 2000 survey indices for

Loligo and is determined to be a level

that would allow the Loligo stock to

rebuild to levels at or near BMSY within

3 to 5 years.

Distribution of Annual Loligo Quota

into Four Quarters

The Council recommended, and

NMFS proposes, an IOY of 17,000 mt for

Loligo squid, which is equal to ABC.

Management advice from SAW-29 made

special note of the fact that yield from

this fishery should be distributed

throughout the fishing year. Given that

the current permitted fleet historically

has demonstrated the ability to land

Loligo in excess of the quota specified

for 2001, the Council recommends, and

NMFS proposes, that the annual quota

be subdivided into quarterly periods.

The quota would be allocated to each

period based on the proportion of

landings occurring in each 4-month

period from 1994-1998. The directed

fishery would be closed in Quarters I-III

when 80 percent of that period’s

allocation is harvested, with vessels

restricted to a 2,500-lb (1,134-kg) Loligo

trip limit until the end of the respective

quarter. Additionally, when 95 percent

of the total annual DAH has been

harvested, the trip limit would be

reduced to 2,500 lb (1,134 kg) of Loligo

for the remainder of the year. When the

2,500-lb (1,134-kg) trip limit has been

triggered, vessels will be prohibited

from possessing or landing more than

2,500 lb in a single calendar day. Any

quota overages in Quarter I would be

deducted from the allocation in Quarter

III, and any overage in Quarter II would

be deducted from the allocation in

Quarter IV. The quota allocation is

shown in Table 2.

TABLE 2. Loligo QUARTERLY

ALLOCATIONS.

Quarter Percent Metric Tons

I (JanMar) 33.23 5,649

II (AprJun) 17.61 2,994

III (JulSep) 17.3 2,941

IV (OctDec) 31.86 5,416

Total 100.00 17,000

In Amendment 5 to the FMP, the

Council concluded that U.S. vessels

have the capacity to, and will harvest

the OY on an annual basis, so DAH

equals OY. The Council also concluded

that U.S. fish processors, on an annual

basis, can process that portion of the OY

that will be harvested by U.S.

commercial fishing vessels, so DAP

equals DAH, and JVP is zero. Since U.S.

fishing vessels have the capacity to

harvest, and are expected to attempt to

harvest, the entire OY, there is no

portion of the OY that can be made

available for foreign fishing, making

TALFF zero. These determinations were

made in Amendment 5 to the FMP. The

proposed values of IOY, DAH, and DAP

are 17,000 mt for the 2001 Loligo

fishery, and represent an increase of

2,000 mt from the final 2000 Loligo IOY/

DAH/DAP specifications (NMFS issued

a notification in the Federal Register on

October 10, 2000 (65 FR 60118),

announcing an inseason action to adjust

the 2000 annual specifications for Loligo

squid, including ABC, IOY, DAH and

DAP, from 13,000 mt to 15,000 mt).

Illex

The approved overfishing definition

for Illex states that overfishing for Illex

occurs when the catch associated with

a threshold fishing mortality rate of

FMSY is exceeded. Maximum OY is to be

specified as the catch associated with a

fishing mortality rate of FMSY. In

addition, the biomass target is specified

as BMSY. The minimum biomass

threshold is specified as 1/2 BMSY.

The most recent assessment of the

Illex stock (SAW-29) concluded that the

stock is not overfished and that

overfishing is not occurring. The

previous assessment, the 21st Northeast

Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 234 / Tuesday, December 5, 2000 / Proposed Rules 75915

Regional Stock Assessment (1996), had

concluded that the U.S. Illex stock is

fully exploited. Due to a lack of

adequate data, the estimate of yield at F

MSY was not updated in SAW-29.

However, an upper bound on annual F

was computed for the U.S. Exclusive

Economic Zone portion of the stock,

based on a model that incorporated

weekly landings and relative fishing

effort and mean squid weights during

1994-1998. These estimates of F were

well below the biological reference

points. Current absolute stock size is

unknown and no stock projections were

done in SAW-29.

Since data limitations did not allow

an update of yield estimates at the

threshold and target F values, the

Council recommended, and NMFS

proposes, that the specification of Max

OY and ABC be specified as 24,000 mt

(the yield associated with F MSY). Under

this option, the directed fishery for Illex

would remain open until 95 percent of

the ABC is taken (22,800 mt). Once 95

percent of the ABC is estimated to have

been taken, the directed fishery would

be closed and a 5,000-lb (2,268-kg) trip

limit would remain in effect for the

remainder of the fishing year. Similar to

Loligo, when a trip limit is in effect,

vessels are prohibited from possessing

or landing more than 5,000 lb (2,268 kg)

in a single calendar day. Amendment 5

to the FMP eliminated the possibility of

JVP and TALFF for the Illex fishery

because of the domestic fishing

industry’s ability to harvest and to

process the OY from this fishery.

Butterfish

The FMP set OY for butterfish at

16,000 mt. Based on the most current

stock assessment, the Council

recommends, and NMFS proposes, an

ABC of 7,200 mt for the 2001 fishery.

This represents no change in the

specifications since 1996. Commercial

landings of butterfish have been low at

2,798 mt, 1,964 mt, and 2,116 mt for the

1997 through 1999 fisheries,

respectively. Lack of market demand

and the difficulty in locating schools of

market-sized fish have caused severe

reductions in the supply of butterfish.

Discard data from the offshore Illex

fishery are lacking and high discard

rates could be reducing potential yield.

The Council recommended, and

NMFS proposes, an IOY for butterfish of

5,900 mt. The IOY is composed of a

DAH of 5,897 mt and a bycatch TALFF

that is equal to 0.08 percent of the

allocated Atlantic mackerel TALFF.

Amendment 5 eliminated the possibility

of JVP or TALFF specifications for

butterfish except for a bycatch TALFF

specification if TALFF is specified for

Atlantic mackerel. Since the Council

has recommended TALFF for Atlantic

mackerel, TALFF for butterfish is 3 mt.

If the Regional Administrator, with

concurrence of the Council, determines

that it is appropriate to increase the

current proposed TALFF of 3,000 mt for

Atlantic mackerel up to a final 5,000 mt,

then TALFF for butterfish would be

increased from 3 mt to a final value of

4 mt.

Classification

This proposed rule has been

determined to be not significant for

purposes of Executive Order 12866.

The Council prepared an IRFA in

section 5.0 of the RIR that describes the

economic impacts this proposed rule, if

adopted, would have on small entities.

A summary of the analysis follows:

The IRFA describes the action, why it

is being considered, and the legal basis

for it. These are the same as appear at

the beginning of this preamble and in

the SUMMARY section of the preamble

and are not repeated here.

The IRFA identifies the number of

potential fishing vessels in the 2001

fisheries as 443 vessels fishing for

Loligo, 77 vessels fishing for Illex, 443

vessels fishing for butterfish, and 1,980

vessels fishing for Atlantic mackerel.

Many vessels participate in more than

one of these fisheries; therefore, the

numbers are not additive. The proposed

ABC specifications of 347,000 mt and

DAH of 85,000 mt for Atlantic mackerel,

the DAH specifications of 24,000 mt for

Illex squid, and the DAH specifications

of 5,900 mt for butterfish, represent no

constraint on vessels in these fisheries.

The proposed specifications have not

been achieved by landings for these

species in recent years. Absent a

constraint on the fisheries, no impacts

on revenues are expected.

If the 2001 DAH specification of

17,000 mt for Loligo squid is not

exceeded, the result would be a

decrease in catch and revenue in the

Loligo fishery relative to the 1999

landings and an increase from the

average landings from 1996-1999 (i.e., if

the status quo were maintained).

The first alternative action for

Atlantic mackerel would be to set the

2001 specifications at the same level as

2000. Although it was rejected as

inconsistent with the FMP because it

would not meet the policy objectives of

the Council relative to further

development of the US domestic harvest

of Atlantic mackerel, this alternative

would place no constraints, and

consequently no revenue impacts, on

the fishery. The second alternative for

mackerel was to set ABC at the longterm potential catch (LTPC), or 150,000

mt. This alternative was found

inconsistent with the FMP because it

would not allow for variations and

contingencies in the status of the stock.

For example, the current adult stock

was recently estimated to exceed 2.1

million mt. The specification of ABC at

LTPC would effectively result in an

exploitation rate of only about 6

percent, well below the optimal level of

exploitation. The level of foregone yield

under this alternative was considered

unacceptable and would not impact the

IOY specifications. The third alternative

considered for mackerel included the

elimination of JVP, which would lower

the specification of IOY to 68,000 mt,

also far in excess of recent landings.

These alternatives would not constrain

the fishery and were determined to have

no impact on revenues of participants in

this fishery.

For Loligo, one alternative that was

considered was to set the ABC, DAH,

DAP, and IOY at 13,000 mt. This was

the same level as 2000 until an inseason

adjustment increased the ABC, DAH,

DAP, and IOY to 15,000 mt (65 FR

60118, October 10, 2000). Under the

scenario of a 13,000 mt DAH; if that

value were not exceeded in 2001, 121 of

the 443 impacted vessels would

experience revenue reductions of greater

than 5 percent. This would represent a

20.5-percent reduction in 1996-1999

average landings of 16,348 mt. The

remaining 322 vessels would experience

less than 5-percent reduction in revenue

or an increase in revenue. A second

alternative would set ABC, DAH, DAP,

and IOY at 11,700 mt. This would

represent a 28.4-percent reduction in

1996-1999 average landings. Under this

scenario, 161 of the 443 impacted

vessels would experience revenue

reductions of greater than 5-percent.

The remaining 282 vessels would

experience less than a 5-percent

reduction in revenue, or an increase in

revenue.

For Illex, the first alternative that sets

Max OY, ABC, IOY, DAH, and DAP of

30,000 mt and the second alternative

that sets Max OY at 24,000 mt and ABC,

IOY, DAH, and DAP at 19,000 mt far

exceed recent landings in this fishery.

Therefore, there would be no

constraints, and, thus, no revenue

reductions, associated with these

specifications.

For butterfish, the Council considered

a DAH, OY, and Max OY of 16,000 mt

and a DAH and OY of 10,000 mt. These

specifications would not constrain or

impact the industry; however, they

would lead to overfishing of the stock,

and, thus, were rejected by the Council.

This rule does not duplicate, overlap,

or conflict with other Federal rules.

75916 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 234 / Tuesday, December 5, 2000 / Proposed Rules

There are no recordkeeping or reporting

requirements associated with this rule.

A copy of the IRFA is available from

the Council (see ADDRESSES).

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, the Regional Administrator (see

ADDRESSES).

List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 648

Fisheries, Fishing, Reporting and

recordkeeping requirements.

Dated: November 28, 2000.

William T. Hogarth,

Deputy Assistant Administrator for Fisheries,

National Marine Fisheries Service.

For the reasons set out 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 § 648.21, paragraph (e) is revised

to read as follows:

§ 648.21 Procedures for determining initial

annual amounts.

* * * * *

(e) Distribution of annual Loligo squid

commercial quota. (1) Beginning

January 1, 2001, a commercial quota

will be allocated annually for Loligo

squid into quarterly periods, based on

the following percentages:

COMMERCIAL QUOTA

Quarter Percent

I JanuaryMarch 33.23

II AprilJune 17.61

III JulySeptember 17.30

IV October-December 31.86

(2) Beginning January 1, 2001, any

overages of commercial quota landed

from Quarter I will be subtracted from

Quarter III and any overages of

commercial quota landed from Quarter

II will be subtracted from Quarter IV.

* * * * *

3. In § 648.22, paragraph (a) is revised

to read as follows:

§ 648.22 Closure of the fishery.

(a) General. NMFS shall close the

directed mackerel fishery in the EEZ

when U.S. fishermen have harvested 80

percent of the DAH of that fishery if

such closure is necessary to prevent the

DAH from being exceeded. The closure

shall remain in effect for the remainder

of the fishing year, with incidental

catches allowed as specified in

paragraph (c) of this section, until the

entire DAH is attained. When the

Regional Administrator projects that

DAH will be attained for mackerel,

NMFS will close the mackerel fishery in

the EEZ, and the incidental catches

specified for mackerel in paragraph (c)

of this section will be prohibited. NMFS

will close the directed fishery in the

EEZ for Loligo when 80 percent is

harvested in Quarters I, II and III, and

when 95 percent of the total annual

DAH has been harvested. The closure of

the directed fishery will be in effect for

the remainder of the fishing year, with

incidental catches allowed as specified

in paragraph (c) of this section. NMFS

will close the directed fishery in the

EEZ for Illex or butterfish when 95

percent of the DAH has been harvested.

The closure of the directed fishery will

be in effect for the remainder of the

fishing year, with incidental catches

allowed as specified in paragraph (c) of

this section.

* * * * *

[FR Doc. 00–30819 Filed 12–4–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE: 3510–22–S

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration

50 CFR Part 697

[Docket No. 001120327-0327-01; I.D.

091800H ]

RIN 0648-AO58

American Lobster Fishery

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),

Commerce.

ACTION: Proposed rule.

SUMMARY: NMFS proposes regulations to

modify the management measures

applicable to the American lobster

fishery. This action would exempt black

sea bass fishers who concurrently hold

limited access lobster and limited access

black sea bass permits from the more

restrictive gear requirements in the

lobster regulations when fishing in

Lobster Management Area (LMA) 5 if

they elect to be restricted to the non-trap

lobster allowance while targeting sea

bass in LMA 5. This regulation also

clarifies that lobster trap regulations do

not affect trap gear requirements for

fishermen who do not possess a limited

access American lobster permit. The

intent of these regulations is to relieve

restrictions on fishers that were

unintended, without compromising

lobster conservation goals.

DATES: Comments on this proposed rule

must be received at the appropriate

address (see ADDRESSES) no later than 5

p.m., eastern standard time, on

December 26, 2000.

ADDRESSES: Send written comments on

this proposed rule to, and obtain copies

of supporting documents that also

include a Draft Environmental

Assessment/Regulatory Impact Review

(DEA/RIR) from, the Director, State,

Federal and Constituent Programs

Office, NMFS, One Blackburn Drive,

Gloucester, MA 01930. Comments will

not be accepted if submitted via e-mail

or Internet. Comments regarding the

collection of information requirements

contained in the proposed rule should

be sent to: the Office of Information and

Regulatory Affairs, Office of

Management and Budget, Washington,

DC 20503 (ATTN: NOAA Desk Officer).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Robert Ross, NMFS, Northeast Region,

978-281-9234.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: NMFS

proposes regulations to modify the

Federal lobster conservation

management measures issued as part of

a Federal/state cooperative management

effort under the authority of the Atlantic

Coastal Fisheries Cooperative

Management Act (ACFCMA). Section

804(b) of ACFCMA authorizes NMFS to

issue regulations governing fishing in

the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) that

are compatible with the effective

implementation of the Atlantic States

Marine Fisheries Commission’s

American Lobster Interstate Fishery

Management Plan and consistent with

the national standards set forth in

section 301 of the Magnuson-Stevens

Fishery Conservation and Management

Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act).

On December 6, 1999, NMFS, in an

effort to end overfishing of the

American lobster resource, published a

final rule (64 FR 68228) creating seven

LMAs; imposing trap limits (800 traps/

vessel in LMA 5), trap tagging

requirements, and a maximum trap size;

increasing the lobster escape vent size;

restricting lobster trap fishers to their

annually selected LMAs; and

establishing a harvest limit for non-trap

vessels. A Final Environmental Impact