[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 95 (Monday, May 18, 1998)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 27256-27257]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-13051]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 648

[Docket No. 980508122-8122-01; I.D. 042498A]


Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Spiny Dogfish 
Fishery; Control Date for Spiny Dogfish

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.

ACTION: Advance notice of proposed rulemaking; notice of control date 
for spiny dogfish fishery.

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SUMMARY: NMFS announces that anyone entering the spiny dogfish (Squalus 
acanthias) (dogfish) fishery after May 18, 1998 (control date) will not 
be assured of future access to the dogfish resource in Federal waters 
if a management regime is developed and implemented under the Magnuson-
Stevens Act that limits the number of participants in the fishery. This 
announcement is intended to promote awareness of potential eligibility 
criteria for future access to that portion of the dogfish fishery and 
to discourage new entries into this fishery based on economic 
speculation while the Mid-Atlantic and New England Fishery Management 
Councils (Councils) contemplate whether and how access to that portion 
of the dogfish fishery in Federal waters should be controlled. The 
potential eligibility criteria may be based on historical 
participation. This announcement, therefore, gives the public notice 
that interested participants should locate and preserve records that 
substantiate and verify their participation in the dogfish fishery in 
Federal waters.

DATES: Comments must be received by June 17, 1998.


[[Page 27257]]


ADDRESSES: Comments should be addressed to Dr. Christopher M. Moore, 
Acting Executive Director, Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council, 300 
South New Street, Dover DE 19904.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Rick Pearson, Fishery Policy Analyst, 
978-281-9324.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    For most of the first two decades of extended jurisdiction under 
the Magnuson-Stevens Act, dogfish was considered to be underutilized 
and of minor economic importance. With the decline of more traditional 
groundfish resources in recent years, an increase in directed fishing 
for dogfish has resulted in a nearly sixfold increase in landings in 
the last 7 years. The lack of any regulations pertaining to the harvest 
of dogfish in the exclusive economic zone, combined with the recent 
expansion of the fishery led the Councils to initiate development of a 
management plan for the species.
    The most recent stock assessment conducted by NMFS for dogfish 
(SAW-26, 1998) indicates that the stock in the Northwest Atlantic has 
begun to decline and the spawning stock has declined significantly 
since 1989 as a result of an increase in exploitation. Expansion of the 
fishery has resulted in a dramatic increase in fishing mortality (F). 
This increased F has been focused primarily on mature females due to 
their larger size. The increased F, in combination with the removal of 
a large portion of the adult female stock, has resulted in the species' 
being designated overfished. The Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, 
NMFS, on April 3, 1998, notified the Councils of this designation, thus 
initiating the 1-year time frame for development of a fishery 
management plan as required by the Magnuson-Stevens Act.
    SAW-26 recommended that a management program be developed promptly 
for this species and that targets for stock biomass and F be 
established. In addition, the recent prominence of this species in the 
Northwest Atlantic ecosystem and evidence of the effects of F on stock 
abundance, including decreased indices of large fish, resulted in the 
Councils' decision to implement a fishery management plan for dogfish.
    The Councils held scoping hearings in the New England and Mid-
Atlantic regions during the fall of 1997 to begin the process of 
developing a fishery management plan for the dogfish fishery (FMP). The 
purpose of the scoping hearings was to determine the scope of issues to 
be addressed and to identify the significant issues and problems 
relating to the management of dogfish.
    Foremost among the problems and issues that were identified during 
the dogfish scoping hearings was the status of the resource. The 
assessment conducted in 1994 indicated that the stock was stable, but 
possibly beginning to decline. Landings have increased since that 
assessment, prompting concerns that the stock may be overfished. Since 
current levels of fishing effort may exceed the level required to 
achieve optimum yield for dogfish, the Councils will be considering 
limiting access to the dogfish fishery during FMP development.
    The Councils intend to address whether and how to limit entry of 
commercial vessels into this fishery in the dogfish FMP. The Councils' 
publication of this control date is to discourage speculative entry 
into the dogfish fishery while potential management regimes to control 
access into the fishery are discussed and possibly developed by the 
Councils. The control date will help to distinguish established 
participants from speculative entrants to the fishery. Although 
participants are notified that entering the fishery after the control 
date will not assure them of future access to the dogfish resource on 
the grounds of previous participation, additional and/or other 
qualifying criteria may be applied. The Councils may choose different 
and variably weighted methods to qualify participants based on the type 
and length of participation in the fishery or on the quantity of 
landings.
    This notification hereby establishes May 18, 1998 for potential use 
in determining historical or traditional participation in the Federal 
waters dogfish fishery. This action does not commit the Councils to 
develop any particular management regime or to use any specific 
criteria for determining entry to the fishery. The Councils may choose 
a different control date or a management program that does not make use 
of such a date. The Councils may also choose to take no further action 
to control entry or access to the fishery. Any action by the Councils 
will be taken pursuant to the requirement for FMP development 
established under the Magnuson-Stevens Act.

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

    Dated: May 11, 1998.
David L. Evans,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries 
Service.
[FR Doc. 98-13051 Filed 5-15-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-F