17776 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 70 / Friday, April 11, 1997 / Proposed Rules

pups for their traditional potlatch rites.

Representatives of the St. Paul Island

tribal government have made similar

requests. Current regulations at 50 CFR

216.72(c)(3) prohibit the taking of fur

seal pups.

The tribal government of St. George

Island also requested an increase in the

number of allowable haulout areas from

which to conduct the annual harvest. At

present, regulations at 50 CFR

216.72(d)(2) limit harvestable locations

to two haulouts, which can be harvested

no more than twice per week. These

requests for pups and additional

haulouts for harvesting will not be

addressed in time for this harvest; they

will be considered through a separate

co-management process in the future.

Regarding the proposed increase of

the lower end estimate range for St.

George Island from 281 to 300 seals, the

continuing decline of the island’s

economy has resulted in an increased

rate of unemployment and, thus, a

greater reliance on subsistence

harvesting of food resources by the

Aleut residents of St. George Island to

meet their needs for the 1997–1999

period. In response to the information

provided by the tribal governments of

St. Paul and St. George Islands, NMFS

proposes that the estimated range on St.

Paul Island for each of the years, 1997–

1999, remains the same as was

established for the years 1994–1996

(1,645 to 2,000), and that the annual

range on St. George Island for the years,

1997–1999, be established at 300–500

seals.

As described earlier in this document,

if the Aleut residents of either island

reach the lower end of this yearly

harvest estimate and have unmet

subsistence needs and no indication of

waste, they may request an additional

number of seals up to the upper limit of

the respective harvest estimates. The

residents of St. George and St. Paul

Islands may substantiate any additional

need for seals by submitting in writing

the information upon which they base

their decision that subsistence needs are

unfulfilled. The regulations at 50 CFR

216.72(e)(1)(I) require a suspension of

the fur seal harvest for up to 48 hours

once the lower end of the estimated

harvest levels is reached. The

suspension is to last no more than 48

hours, followed either by a finding that

the subsistence needs have been met or

by a revised estimate of the number of

seals necessary to satisfy the Aleuts’

subsistence needs.

NMFS emphasizes that it expects the

harvest of fur seals to be non-wasteful

and in full compliance with the

regulations specified at 50 CFR 216.72.

The agency will continue to monitor the

entire harvest on St. Paul Island and a

portion of the harvest on St. George

Island during 1997–1999 to ensure this

result.

Dated: April 2, 1997.

Rolland A. Schmitten,

Assistant Administrator for Fisheries,

National Marine Fisheries Service.

[FR Doc. 97–9389 Filed 4–10–97; 8:45 am]

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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration

50 CFR Part 622

[I.D. 031797A]

RIN 0648–AJ27

Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management

Council; Public Hearings

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),

Commerce.

ACTION: Public hearings; request for

comments.

SUMMARY: The Gulf of Mexico Fishery

Management Council (Council) will

convene 12 public hearings on Draft

Amendment 15 to the Fishery

Management Plan for Reef Fish

Resources of the Gulf of Mexico (FMP)

and a related draft environmental

assessment (EA).

DATES: Written comments will be

accepted until May 2, 1997. The

hearings will be held from April 14 to

April 24, 1997. See SUPPLEMENTARY

INFORMATION for specific dates and

times.

ADDRESSES: Written comments should

be sent to and copies of the draft

amendment are available from Mr.

Wayne E. Swingle, Executive Director,

Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management

Council, 3018 U.S. Highway 301, North,

Suite 1000, Tampa, FL 33619.

The hearings will be held in FL, AL,

MS, LA, and TX. See SUPPLEMENTARY

INFORMATION for locations of the

hearings and public accommodations.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Wayne E. Swingle, (813) 228–2815.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The

Council will hold public hearings on

Draft Amendment 15 to the FMP and its

draft EA. The purposes of Amendment

15 include: (1) Establishing a license

limitation system for the commercial

red snapper fishery; (2) limiting

possession of reef fish in excess of the

recreational bag limit to fish taken in

reef fish traps and stone crab and spiny

lobster traps; (3) increasing the

commercial fishery size limit for

vermilion snapper; (4) removing from

management under the FMP all grunts,

porgies, and sea bass; (5) prohibiting

commercial landings of greater

amberjack during the spawning season

(i.e., March, April, and May); and (6)

specifying that the 20-fish aggregate bag

limit includes only those species within

the reef fish management unit.

Regarding the license limitation

system for the commercial red snapper

fishery, the Council is considering 10

alternatives related to establishing

initial eligibility to participate in the

fishery and initial trip limits. The

initially preferred alternative would

limit participation to vessels with

records of landing in 2 out of 3 years

during the period 1990–1992 of at least

2,500 lb (1,134 kg). Under this

alternative, eligible participants would

be granted one of three classes of

licenses based on their level of landings

during the 1990–1992 period. The three

license classes would correspond to

allowable trip limits of 2,000 (907 kg),

1,000 (454 kg), and 500 lb (227 kg) of

red snapper. The license classes and

criteria under this alternative are shown

in the table below.

License class 1990–92 landings in 2 out of 3 years Initial trip limit

1 ........................ More than 10,000 lb (4,536 kg) ................................................................................................................ 2,000 lb (907 kg).

2 ........................ 5,000 lb (2,268 kg) (but less than 10,000 lb (4,536 kg) .......................................................................... 1,000 lb (454 kg).

3 ........................ 2,500 lb (1,134 kg) but less than 5,000 lb (2,268 kg) .............................................................................. 500 lb (227 kg).

The Council is considering other

license limitation system alternatives or

variations including: (1) Issuing licenses

to vessels rather than persons; (2) in

instances where the landings records of

a vessel upon which a historical captain

served are used to qualify for a license,

issuing separate class (1) or class (2)

licenses to the historical captain and the
Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 70 / Friday, April 11, 1997 / Proposed Rules 17777

vessel owner depending on the vessel’s

level of landings as shown by the

records; (3) transferring licenses without

restrictions; (4) placing no limitations

on the ownership of licenses by one

entity; (5) not allowing the transfer of

landing records for a vessel for the

1990–92 period unless there is an

agreement for transfer of the records

between entities ownership vessel buyer

and seller, the vessel’s permit is

transferred to an additional vessel by

the same owner, or the vessel’s landings

records for 1990–92 were in a corporate

name of a current owner; (6)

establishing specific annual fishing

season opening dates (the Council has

not identified a preferred alternative at

this time) and providing that after the

season opening, the commercial red

snapper fishery will be opened at noon

on the first day of each month and

closed at noon on the fifteenth day of

each month until the commercial quota

is reached and the season closed; (7)

extending the term of the red snapper

licensing indefinitely or until replaced

by an alternate license management

system; (8) establishing an appeals

board consisting of designees of the

directors of the state agencies with

marine fisheries management authority

to review disputes over landings records

serving as a basis for license eligibility;

and (9) allowing no allocation of the

commercial red snapper quota for

bycatch during the closed season.

In addition to the red snapper license

limitation system, Amendment 15

would contain measures to: (1) Prevent

possession of reef fish in excess of the

recreational bag limit for a vessel that

has on board or is tending any traps

other than permitted reef fish traps or

stone crab or spiny lobster traps; (2)

increase the size limit for vermilion

snapper from 8 to 10 inches total length

(3.9 cm); remove sea bass, porgies, and

grunts from management under the FMP

and allow the states to manage these

species; (3) close the commercial fishery

for greater amberjack in the exclusive

economic zone off west Florida during

the spawning season (i.e., March

through May); and (4) amend the

recently implemented 20-fish aggregate

bag limit measure, which applies to

those species without specific

individual bag limits under the FMP, so

that it applies only to certain species

(i.e., vermilion snapper, lane snapper,

banded rudderfish, lesser amberjack,

Almaco jack, gray triggerfish, and

tilefish).

The public will be asked to comment

on a scoping document for greater

amberjack, lesser amberjack, Almaco

jack, and banded rudder fish. Persons

will be asked to provide their

observations on the status of these

stocks, localized abundance, changes in

size or abundance over the past 10

years, whether additional regulation is

needed, whether current rules should be

modified, and the dependence of fishing

sectors on these stocks. This

information will be used to draft an

options paper for a subsequent FMP

amendment.

The hearings are scheduled from 7

p.m. to 10 p.m. as follows:

1. Monday, April 14, 1997—Holiday

Inn Beachside, 3841 North Roosevelt

Boulevard, Key West, FL 33040.

2. Tuesday, April 15, 1997—Golden

Gate Community Center, 4701 Golden

Gate Parkway, Naples, FL 33999.

3. Wednesday, April 16, 1997—City

Hall Auditorium, 300 Municipal Drive,

Madeira Beach, FL 33708.

4. Thursday, April 17, 1997—County

Commission Office, 200 East Green

Street, Perry, FL 32348.

5. Monday, April 21, 1997—Larose

Regional Park, 2001 East 5th Street,

Larose, LA 70373.

6. Monday, April 21, 1997—Police

Jury Annex, Courthouse Square, P.O.

Box 366, Cameron, LA 70631.

7. Tuesday, April 22, 1997—J. L. Scott

Marine Education Center, 115 East

Beach Boulevard, US Highway 90,

Biloxi, MS 39530.

8. Tuesday, April 22, 1997—Texas

A&M Auditorium, 200 Seawolf

Parkway, Galveston, TX 77553.

9. Wednesday, April 23, 1997—

Holiday Inn on the Beach, 365 East

Beach Boulevard, Gulf Shores, AL

36547.

10. Wednesday, April 23, 1997—Port

Aransas Civic Center Auditorium, 710

West Avenue A, Port Aransas, TX

78373.

11. Thursday, April 24, 1997—

National Marine Fisheries Service,

Panama City Laboratory, 3500 Delwood

Beach Road, Panama City, FL 32408.

12. Thursday, April 24, 1997—Port

Isabel Community Center, 122

Fernandez, Laguna Vista, TX 78578.

These hearings are physically

accessible to people with disabilities.

Requests for sign language

interpretation or other auxiliary aids

should be directed to Anne Alford at the

Council (see ADDRESSES).

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

Dated: April 8, 1997.

Bruce Morehead,

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service.

[FR Doc. 97–9434 Filed 4–10–97; 8:45 am]

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