[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 70 (Friday, April 11, 1997)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 17776-17777]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-9434]


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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.

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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.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                       1990-92 landings in 2                            
    License class          out of 3 years         Initial trip limit    
------------------------------------------------------------------------
1....................  More than 10,000 lb    2,000 lb (907 kg).        
                        (4,536 kg).                                     
2....................  5,000 lb (2,268 kg)    1,000 lb (454 kg).        
                        (but less than                                  
                        10,000 lb (4,536 kg).                           
3....................  2,500 lb (1,134 kg)    500 lb (227 kg).          
                        but less than 5,000                             
                        lb (2,268 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

[[Page 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]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P