77470 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 238 / Monday, December 11, 2000 / Rules and Regulations

(2) Size, timing, or location of new or

existing spawning area closures;

(3) Closed areas other than spawning

closures;

(4) Restrictions in the amount of

fishing time;

(5) A days-at-sea system;

(6) Adjustments to specifications;

(7) Adjustments to the Canadian catch

deducted when determining

specifications;

(8) Distribution of the TAC;

(9) Gear restrictions (such as mesh

size, etc.) or requirements (such as

bycatch-reduction devices, etc.);

(10) Vessel size or horsepower

restrictions;

(11) Closed seasons;

(12) Minimum fish size;

(13) Trip limits;

(14) Seasonal, area, or industry sector

quotas;

(15) Measures to describe and identify

essential fish habitat (EFH), fishing gear

management measures to protect EFH,

and designation of habitat areas of

particular concern within EFH;

(16) Measures to facilitate

aquaculture, such as minimum fish

sizes, gear restrictions, minimum mesh

sizes, possession limits, tagging

requirements, monitoring requirements,

reporting requirements, permit

restrictions, area closures, establishment

of special management areas or zones,

and any other measures included in the

FMP;

(17) Changes to the overfishing

definition;

(18) Vessel monitoring system

requirements;

(19) Limits or restrictions on the

harvest of herring for specific uses;

(20) Quota monitoring tools, such as

vessel, operator, or dealer reporting

requirements;

(21) Permit and vessel upgrading

restrictions;

(22) Implementation of measures to

reduce gear conflicts, such as mandatory

monitoring of a radio channel by fishing

vessels, gear location reporting by fixed

gear fishermen, mandatory plotting of

gear by mobile fishermen, standards of

operation when conflict occurs, fixed

gear marking or setting practices; gear

restrictions for certain areas, vessel

monitoring systems, restrictions on the

maximum number of fishing vessels,

and special permitting conditions;

(23) Limited entry or controlled

access system;

(24) Specification of the amount of

herring to be used for roe; and

(5) Any other measure currently

included in the FMP.

(e) Emergency action. Nothing in this

section is meant to derogate from the

authority of the Secretary to take

emergency action under section 305(e)

of the Magnuson-Stevens Act.

[FR Doc. 00–31220 Filed 12–8–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510–22–S

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration

50 CFR Part 648

[Docket No. 000105004–0260–02 ;I.D.

120400A]

RIN 0648–AI78

Fisheries of the Northeastern United

States; Atlantic Herring Fisheries; 2000

Specifications; Adjustment; Closure

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),

Commerce.

ACTION: Inseason adjustment of the 2000

Atlantic herring specifications; closure

of Area 1A.

SUMMARY: NMFS adjusts the 2000

annual specifications for the Atlantic

herring fishery including total joint

venture processing (JVPt), joint venture

processing (JVP), internal waters

processing (IWP), U.S. at–sea processing

(USAP), and total allowable catch (TAC)

for Areas 1A and 1B. The intent is to

reapportion allowable catches of herring

within the fishery sectors and areas to

allow for the achievement of the

objectives of the Fishery Management

Plan for Atlantic Herring (FMP). NMFS

also announces that the directed fishery

for Atlantic herring in Area 1A in the

exclusive economic zone (EEZ) will be

closed.

DATES: The closure of Area 1A is

effective December 14, 2000 through

0001 hours, January 1, 2001. After 0001

hours, December 14, 2000, vessels may

not fish for, possess, catch, transfer, or

land more than 2,000 lb (907.2 kg) of

Atlantic herring per trip and per

calendar day. Comments on the

inseason adjustment must be received

by January 10, 2001.

ADDRESSES: Comments on the inseason

adjustment should be sent to Patricia A.

Kurkul, Regional Administrator, NMFS,

Northeast Regional Office, 1 Blackburn

Drive, Gloucester, MA 01930. Mark on

the outside of the envelope ‘‘Comments

on Inseason Adjustment of 2000

Atlantic herring specifications.’’

Comments may also be sent via

facsimile (fax) to (978) 281–9371.

Comments will not be accepted if

submitted via e–mail or the Internet.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Myles Raizin, Fishery Policy Analyst,

978–281–9288, fax at (978) 281–9135.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Inseason Adjustment

The inseason adjustment adjusts the

2000 specifications for the Atlantic

herring fishery by transferring 5,000 mt

specified for JVP and 15,000 mt

specified for IWP to USAP, and

transferring 15,000 mt of Atlantic

herring from the Area 1B TAC to the

Area 1A TAC. This action is consistent

with the FMP.

JVP is the amount of herring

purchased over the side from U.S.

vessels and processed by foreign vessels

in the EEZ; IWP is the amount of herring

purchased over the side from U.S.

vessels and processed by foreign vessels

at anchor in state waters; JVPt is the

sum of JVP and IWP; and USAP is the

amount of herring purchased over the

side from U.S. vessels and processed in

the EEZ by U.S. vessels of the United

States that are larger than 165 ft (50.3 m)

in length overall or greater than 750

gross registered tons (680.4 mt). For

fishing year 2000, JVP allocations were

specified for Areas 2 and 3.

Regulations at § 648.200(e) allow

NMFS, after consulting with the New

England Fishery Management Council

(Council), to adjust annual

specifications for the Atlantic herring

fishery during the fishing year by

publishing notification in the Federal

Register stating the reasons for such

action and providing an opportunity for

public comment. Any adjustments must

be consistent with the FMP objectives

and other FMP provisions.

2000 Herring Specifications

The FMP, which was submitted for

Secretarial review by the Council on

March 8, 1999, and partially approved

on October 27, 1999, contains

specifications for the 1999 fishery. The

2000 specifications are unchanged from

those designated as 1999 specifications

in the FMP (see Table 1). The FMP and

the 2000 fishery specifications were

implemented through a final rule

published in the final rule section of

this edition of the Federal Register.

Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 238 / Monday, December 11, 2000 / Rules and Regulations 77471

TABLE 1. 2000 ATLANTIC HERRING

SPECIFICATIONS (UNADJUSTED)

Specification Recommended Amount (mt)

ABC 300,000

OY 224,000

DAH 224,000

DAP 180,000

USAP 0

BT 4,000

JVPt 40,000

JVP–Area

2 10,000

JVP–Area

3 5,000

IWP 25,000

Reserve 0

TAC–Area

1A 45,000

TAC–Area

1B 25,000

TAC–Area

2 50,000

(54,000 TAC reserve)

TAC–Area

3 50,000

Since submission of the FMP, the

Council has received new information

that has prompted the Council to

reconsider the 2000 specifications and

request NMFS to adjust those

specifications for the remainder of the

2000 fishery. The adjusted

specifications are presented in Table 2

and discussed here.

TABLE 2. 2000 ATLANTIC HERRING

SPECIFICATIONS (ADJUSTED)

Specification Recommended Amount (mt)

ABC 300,000

OY 224,000

DAH 224,000

DAP 180,000

USAP 20,000

BT 4,000

JVPt 20,000

JVP–Area

2 and

Area 3 10,000

IWP 10,000

Reserve 0

TAC–Area

1A 60,000

TAC–Area

1B 10,000

TAC–Area

2 50,000

(54,000 TAC reserve)

TAC–Area

3 50,000

Adjustment to the TAC Specification for

Herring in Areas 1A and 1B

Area 1A and 1B together comprise

Area 1, also referred to as the Gulf of

Maine (GOM) stock component of the

herring fishery. In preparing the FMP

and specifications for the 1999 fishery,

the Council received management

advice from Stock Assessment

Workshop 27 that cautioned that any

increase in catch in the herring fishery

should not come from Area 1.

Information available at that time

indicated that the historic fishery

harvested, on average, approximately

70,000 mt per year from Area 1.

Therefore, the Council established a

TAC of 70,000 mt for Area 1, consistent

with the scientific advice.

The 2000 specifications for herring

contained in the FMP divided the

70,000 mt Area 1 TAC into a TAC of

45,000 mt in Area 1A and 25,000 mt in

Area 1B. In setting the Area 1 TAC in

the FMP, the Council noted that

estimated landings from the area were

relatively low in 1998 and early 1999.

Area 1A landings for 1998 totaled only

43,586 mt, down from 67,608 mt in

1997. Since the majority of herring

spawning occurs in Area 1A, the

Council reacted to the reduction in

landings in that area by specifying a

TAC of only 45,000 mt TAC, to afford

more protection for the spawning stock,

noting that there was uncertainty as to

whether the decline in 1998 was due to

a drastic change in stock size or simply

due to a change in availability.

However, landings from Area 1A

rebounded to an estimated 63,195 mt in

1999, causing the Council to reconsider

the appropriate TAC for Area 1A. The

Council concluded that the reduction in

landings in 1998 was not a result of low

herring abundance, but only in

availability of fish in Area 1A in 1998.

Therefore, the Council determined that

there was no biological risk in

increasing the TAC in Area 1A to 60,000

mt, while reducing the TAC in Area 1B

to 10,000 mt. In addition, the Council

noted in its request that any

conservation concerns regarding

spawning potential for Area 1A herring

are further alleviated by the Atlantic

States Marine Fisheries Commission’s

decision to close sub–areas in Area 1A

to directed fishing during peak

spawning periods.

The Council determined that the

maintenance of a 45,000–mt TAC in

Area 1A for the 2000 fishery could

result in an unnecessary and

unintended adverse economic impact,

since TAC in Area 1A in 2000 would be

approximately 23,000 mt less than

estimated 1999 landings. In Table E.58

of the Regulatory Impact Review (RIR)

accompanying the FMP, the Council

estimated that a 60,000–mt TAC in Area

1A, relative to 1997 landings, would

yield a gain in total revenues of

$121,275, while a TAC of 45,000 mt

would yield a loss in total revenue of

$1,863,225, relative to 1997.

Adjustment to JVP and USAP

In July 1999, the Council approved

recommendations for herring

specifications for the 2000 fishery and

subsequently submitted those

recommendations to NMFS with an

accompanying environmental analysis

and RIR. The public was invited to

comment on those recommendations at

meetings of the Herring Committee and

Council. At that time, the Council

assumed that final regulations

implementing the FMP would be

effective prior to the beginning of the

2000 fishing year. However, in the final

rule implementing the FMP, NMFS

extended the 1999 specifications

approved in the FMP to the 2000

fishery. NMFS informed the Council

that its submission would be considered

as an adjustment to the 2000

specifications, once the final rule

implementing the FMP was published.

The 2000 specifications implemented

by the FMP set USAP at 0 mt, JVPt at

40,000 mt, JVP at 15,000 mt, and IWP

at 25,000 mt. In its submission, the

Council recommended an adjustment

that transfers 20,000 mt from JVPt,

including 5,000 mt from JVP and 15,000

mt from IWP, to USAP, resulting in a

USAP of 20,000 mt, a JVPt of 20,000 mt,

and JVP and IWP of 10,000 mt each. In

addition, the 10,000 mt specification of

JVP now reflects the combined

allocation in Areas 2 and 3, whereas, the

2000 specifications allocated 5,000 mt

to Area 2 and 10,000 mt to Area 3.

There are currently no large U.S.

vessels processing herring at sea in

Areas 1, 2, or 3. However, the Council

determined that capacity exists to

process 20,000 mt. The Council does not

want to deprive large U.S. vessels of the

opportunity to accept herring over the

side and process it at sea; large foreign

boats have the potential to do this under

joint venture arrangements.

Specification of USAP is consistent with

an objective of the FMP that directs the

Council to adopt measures that would

maximize domestic use and encourage

value–added product utilization.

Closure of Area 1A

The regulations at 50 CFR 648.202

require NMFS to close, by notification

action, the directed Atlantic herring

fishery in any of the four management

areas designated in the FMP, if the

harvest of Atlantic herring is projected

to reach 95 percent of the TAC allocated

to that area. NMFS determined, based

on available data, that 95 percent of the

adjusted Area 1A TAC of 60,000 mt has

been harvested. Therefore, NMFS

77472 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 238 / Monday, December 11, 2000 / Rules and Regulations

announces that the directed fishery for

Atlantic herring in Area 1A in the EEZ

will be closed. The closure of Area 1A

is effective December 14, 2000 through

0001 hours, January 1, 2001. After 0001

hours, December 14, 2000, vessels may

not fish for, possess, catch, transfer, or

land more than 2,000 lb (907.2 kg) of

Atlantic herring per trip. In addition,

vessels may not land more than one trip

or 2,000 lb (907.2 kg) of Atlantic herring

per calendar day. Vessels may transit

Area 1A with more than 2,000 lb (907.2

kg) of herring on board providing all

fishing gear is stowed and not available

for immediate use as required by

§ 648.23(b).

Classification

This action is authorized by 50 CFR

part 648 and is exempt from review

under Executive Order 12866.

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

Dated: December 4, 2000.

Richard W. Surdi,

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service.

[FR Doc. 00–31371 Filed 12–8–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE: 3510–22–S