Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 93 /Thursday, May 14, 1998 / Proposed Rules 26765

Val Verde and Kinney counties, Texas,

and Coahuila, Mexico. All interested

parties are invited to submit comments

on this proposal.

DATES: The public hearing will be held

from 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. on May 28,

1998, in Del Rio, Texas. The comment

period closes July 27, 1998.

ADDRESSES: The public hearing will be

held at the Freshmen School Cafeteria of

the San Felipe-Del Rio Independent

School District, located at 90 Memorial

Drive in Del Rio, Texas. Written

comments and materials concerning the

proposal should be sent to the Field

Supervisor, Austin Ecological Services

Field Office, U.S. Fish and Wildlife

Service, 10711 Burnet Road, Suite 200,

Austin, Texas, 78758. Comments and

materials received will be available for

public inspection, by appointment,

during normal business hours at the

above address.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Nathan Allan, Fish and Wildlife

Biologist (see ADDRESSES section)

(telephone 512/490–0057; facsimile

512/490–0974).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

The current range of the Devils River

minnow is limited to three stream

systems in Val Verde and Kinney

counties, Texas, and one drainage in

Coahuila, Mexico. The species’ range

has been significantly contracted and

fragmented. In addition, the numbers of

Devils River minnows collected during

fish surveys has declined dramatically

over the past 25 years; the species has

declined from one of the most abundant

fish to one of the least abundant. Based

on the current information, the decline

of the species in both distribution and

abundance may be attributed in large

part to the effects of habitat loss and

modification and the introduction of

nonnative fish into habitats of the Devils

River minnow.

On March 27, 1998, the Service

published a proposed rule to list the

Devils River minnow as endangered

under the Endangered Species Act (Act)

of 1973, as amended. Section 4(b)(5)(E)

of the Act requires that a public hearing

be held if requested within 45 days of

the proposal’s publication in the

Federal Register. Because of the past

public interest in the listing of this

species, the Service opened the public

comment period for 120 days and

planned the public hearing in advance

of a request.

The Service has scheduled this

hearing for 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. on May

28, 1998, at the Freshmen School

Cafeteria of the San Felipe-Del Rio

Independent School District, located at

90 Memorial Drive in Del Rio, Texas.

Anyone wishing to make an oral

statement for the record is encouraged

to provide a written copy of their

statement to be presented to the Service

at the start of the hearing. In the event

there is a large attendance, the time

allotted for oral statements may have to

be limited. Oral and written statements

receive equal consideration. There are

no limits on the length of written

comments presented at this hearing or

mailed to the Service. Legal notices

announcing the date, time and location

of the hearing are being published in

newspapers concurrently with this

Federal Register notice.

The comment period on the proposal

will remain open until July 27, 1998.

Written comments may be submitted

until that date to the Service office in

the ADDRESSES section.

Author

The primary author of this notice is

Nathan Allan (see ADDRESSES section)

(telephone 512/490–0057; facsimile

512/490–0974).

Authority

The authority for this action is the

Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16

U.S.C. 1531 et seq.).

Dated: May 7, 1998.

Nancy M. Kaufman,

Regional Director, Fish and Wildlife Service.

[FR Doc. 98–12839 Filed 5–13–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310–55–P

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration

50 CFR Part 654

[Docket No. 980501114–8114–01; I.D.

041698G]

RIN 0648–AK48

Stone Crab Fishery of the Gulf of

Mexico; Amendment 6

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),

Commerce.

ACTION: Proposed rule; request for

comments.

SUMMARY: NMFS issues this proposed

rule to implement Amendment 6 to the

Fishery Management Plan for the Stone

Crab Fishery of the Gulf of Mexico

(FMP). Amendment 6 would extend, for

up to 4 years, the existing temporary

moratorium on the Federal registration

of stone crab vessels. The intended

effect is to provide additional time for

the industry and Florida to develop and

implement a limited access system for

the fishery.

DATES: Written comments will be

considered if received on or before June

29, 1998.

ADDRESSES: Send comments on the

proposed rule to the Southeast Regional

Office, NMFS, 9721 Executive Center

Drive N., St. Petersburg, FL 33702.

Requests for copies of Amendment 6,

which includes a regulatory impact

review and an environmental

assessment, should be sent to the Gulf

of Mexico Fishery Management Council,

3018 U.S. Highway 301 North, Suite

1000, Tampa, FL 33619–2266; Phone:

813–228–2815; Fax: 813-225–7015.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Michael E. Justen, 813–570–5305.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The FMP

was prepared by the Gulf of Mexico

Fishery Management Council (Council)

and is implemented under the authority

of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery

Conservation and Management Act

(Magnuson-Stevens Act) by regulations

at 50 CFR part 654.

Background

Final regulations implemented the

FMP on September 30, 1979 (44 FR

53519), and apply only to the exclusive

economic zone (EEZ) off Florida’s west

coast (including Monroe County), the

primary location of the directed stone

crab fishery.

The original FMP required vessels to

be registered by the appropriate state or

Federal agency and assigned an

identification number and color code for

the vessel and gear. Federal regulations

allowed fishermen to obtain a Federal

identification number and color code

from the NMFS Southeast Regional

Office, if the applicant could not obtain

an identification number and color code

from Florida. However, the NMFS

Southeast Regional Office has never

issued an identification number and

color code to anyone to participate in

the stone crab fishery because fishermen

could obtain them from Florida.

Amendment 5, implemented on April

14, 1995 (60 FR 13918), placed a 3-year

moratorium (April 15, 1995 - June 30,

1998) on the Federal registration of

stone crab vessels. The Council

recommended, and NMFS approved and

implemented, the Federal moratorium

because the Florida Legislature passed a

moratorium on the issuance of state

permits, effective July 1, 1995, while the

Florida Marine Fisheries Commission

(FMFC), in cooperation with the stone

crab industry, considered development
26766 Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 93 /Thursday, May 14, 1998 / Proposed Rules

of a limited access system. Without the

Federal moratorium, fishermen could

have circumvented the state

moratorium.

The Council recommended

Amendment 6 to extend the Federal

moratorium on vessel registration for up

to 4 years (i.e., through June 30, 2002)

because it is concerned that legislative

action by Florida to create a limited

access system may be delayed beyond

June 30, 1998.

If the Federal moratorium expires on

June 30, 1998, anyone could apply to

NMFS for vessel registration.

Substantial entry into the stone crab

fishery would adversely affect current

participants in the fishery by reducing

their respective shares of the harvest.

The fishery is already overcapitalized

both in gear deployed, with

approximately 798,000 traps deployed

in 1995–96, and in the number of

permitted vessels. As of July 1, 1995,

there were 6,501 commercial permits

issued. Only 1,556 permit holders,

however, had stone crab landings, and

70 percent of them, or 1,102 permittees,

had annual landings of 500 lb (225 kg)

or less. Landings have not increased

significantly since 1982–83, when

approximately 350,000 traps were

deployed. Catch-per-unit-of-effort has

declined significantly since then.

In cooperation with the stone crab

industry, the FMFC has proposed to the

Florida Legislature a limited access

program that contains provisions for a

license limitation system that would

exclude permit holders with no record

of landings during recent years. The

Florida Legislature is expected to pass

this limited access program in 1999

with the state law to become effective

July 1, 1999. The Council will then

submit a regulatory amendment to

extend the license limitation program to

Federal waters off Florida’s Gulf coast,

including Monroe County.

Management Measures in Amendment

6

Amendment 6 would continue, for up

to 4 years, the FMP’s temporary

moratorium on the Federal registration

of stone crab vessels. This Federal

moratorium would end no later than

June 30, 2002.

Control Date

At the Council’s request, NMFS

published a control date of July 24,

1995, for the commercial fishery (60 FR

37868, July 24, 1995). That action

notified fishermen entering the

commercial stone crab fishery that after

that date they may not be allowed to

participate in the fishery if that date is

used in a limited access program to

limit entry.

Availability of and Comments on

Amendment 6

Additional background and rationale

for the measures discussed above are

contained in Amendment 6, the

availability of which was announced in

the Federal Register on April 23, 1998

(63 FR 20163). Written comments on

Amendment 6 must be received on or

before June 22, 1998. Comments that are

received by NMFS on or before June 22,

1998, whether specifically directed to

Amendment 6 or the proposed rule, will

be considered by NMFS in its decision

to approve, disapprove, or partially

approve Amendment 6. Comments

received after that date will not be

considered by NMFS in this decision.

All comments received on Amendment

6 or on this proposed rule during their

respective comment periods will be

addressed in the preamble to the final

rule.

Classification

At this time, NMFS has not made a

final determination that the provisions

of Amendment 6 are consistent with the

national standards, other provisions of

the Magnuson-Stevens Act, and other

applicable laws. In making that final

determination, NMFS will take into

account the data, views, and comments

received during the comment period.

This proposed rule has been

determined to be not significant for

purposes of E.O. 12866.

The Assistant General Council for

Legislation and Regulation of the

Department of Commerce, based on the

Council’s Regulatory Impact Review

(RIR) that assesses the economic impact

of maangement measures proposed in

this rule on fishery participants,

certified to the Chief Counsel for

Advocacy of the Small Business

Administration that this proposed rule,

if adopted, would not have a significant

economic impact on a substantial

number of small entities as follows:

The regulations are not likely to change

annual gross revenues by more than 5

percent. Instead, the Federal moratorium

would simply maintain current rules, and

vessels would not be subjected to a

regulatory-induced reduction in gross

revenue.

Annual compliance costs are not likely to

increase total costs of production for small

entities by more than 5 percent. It has been

estimated that there would be no additional

costs associated with compliance with the

provisions of this amendment, as no

additional permits, gear modifications, or

other changes are required.

Compliance costs as a percent of sales for

small entities are not likely to be at least 10

percent higher than compliance costs as a

percent of sales for large entities. All the

firms expected to be impacted by the rule are

small entities and hence there is no

differential impact.

Capital costs of compliance are not likely

to represent a significant portion of capital

available to small entities, considering

internal cash flow and external financing

capabilities. Significant effects of this type

are not expected to occur from any of the

alternatives that would extend the

moratorium.

The requirements of the regulations are not

likely to force a number of the small entities

to cease operations. The action to extend the

moratorium would not force any vessels out

of the fishery.

As a result, a regulatory flexibility

analysis was not prepared. A copy of the

RIR is available from the Council (see

ADDRESSES).

List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 654

Fisheries, Fishing.

Dated: May 8, 1998.

David L. Evans,

Deputy Assistant Administrator for Fisheries,

National Marine Fisheries Service.

For the reasons set out in the

preamble, 50 CFR part 654 is proposed

to be amended as follows:

PART 654—STONE CRAB FISHERY OF

THE GULF OF MEXICO

1. The authority citation for part 654

continues to read as follows:

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

2. In § 654.3, paragraph (d) is revised

to read as follows.

§ 654.3 Relation to other laws.

* * * * *

(d) Under Amendment 6 to the

Fishery Management Plan for the Stone

Crab Fishery of the Gulf of Mexico,

there is a temporary moratorium on the

issuance by the Regional Director of

Federal identification numbers and

color codes for vessels and gear in the

stone crab fishery in the management

area. The moratorium will end not later

than June 30, 2002. During the

moratorium, fishermen must obtain

identification numbers and color codes

for these vessels and gear from Florida.

(See § 654.6(a).)

[FR Doc. 98–12843 Filed 5–13–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510–22–F