21468 Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 84 / Tuesday, May 2, 1995 / Rules and Regulations

as defined in the clause entitled ‘‘Trade

Agreement Act’’ in this solicitation; or

* * * * *

Dated: April 20, 1995.

Ida M. Ustad,

Associate Administrator for Acquisition

Policy.

[FR Doc. 95–10547 Filed 5–1–95; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6820–61–M

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration

50 CFR Part 678

[Docket No. 950414106–5106–01; I.D.

121494A]

RIN 0648–AF63

Atlantic Shark Fisheries; Semiannual

Quotas for Large Coastal and Pelagic

Sharks

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),

Commerce.

ACTION: Final rule.

SUMMARY: NMFS issues this final rule to

establish semiannual commercial quotas

for Atlantic large coastal sharks and

Atlantic pelagic sharks under the

framework provisions of the Fishery

Management Plan for Sharks of the

Atlantic Ocean (FMP), at 1994 levels.

These quotas apply to permitted vessels

for 1995 and, unless adjusted, for future

years. This final rule is intended to

reduce the probability of overfishing, by

maintaining the current semiannual

quotas for the pelagic shark species

group and rejecting the planned 1995

increases in the semiannual commercial

quotas increase for the large coastal

species group.

EFFECTIVE DATE: May 1, 1995.

ADDRESSES: Requests for copies of the

environmental assessment and

regulatory impact review (EA/RIR)

should be sent to Richard B. Stone,

Chief, Highly Migratory Species

Management Division, ffice of Fisheries

Conservation and Management (F/CM),

National Marine Fisheries Service, 1315

East-West Highway, Silver Spring, MD

20910.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: C.

Michael Bailey, 301–713–2347, FAX

301–713–0596; Michael E. Justen, 813–

570–5305 or Kevin B. Foster, 508–281–

9260.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The

fishery for Atlantic sharks is managed

under the FMP prepared by NMFS

under authority of section 304(f)(3) of

the Magnuson Fishery Conservation and

Management Act (Magnuson Act), and

implemented in April 1993 through

regulations found at 50 CFR part 678.

For the reasons explained below,

NMFS is implementing the following

semiannual quotas: Large coastal

species = 1,285 metric tons dressed

weight (mtdw); Pelagic species = 290

mtdw. The notice of proposed

rulemaking was published on January 6,

1995 (60 FR 2071), with a request for

comments. The notice of proposed

rulemaking contained background

information which is not repeated here.

Comments and Responses

Commercial Quotas

Comments: Written comments on the

proposed commercial quotas were

provided by one Fishery Management

Council, three conservation

organizations, one directed commercial

shark fishing organization (petition with

49 entries), one incidental commercial

shark fishing organization, one seafood

production company, and 64

individuals whose comments addressed

the proposed commercial quotas.

Commenters suggested four possible

options: (1) Commercial quotas should

be allowed to increase as scheduled in

the FMP, (2) commercial quotas should

be maintained at the current level until

additional data on the status of the

stocks can be evaluated, (3) commercial

quotas should be significantly reduced,

and (4) the commercial shark fishery

should be closed until there are clear

signs of stock recovery.

Response: NMFS has examined the

four possible commercial quota options

and has determined that the total

allowable catch (TAC) for 1995 should

remain at the 1994 level, as

recommended by the 1994 Shark

Evaluation Workshop (SEW) and

members of the Shark Operations Team

(OT). A new stock assessment and

fishery evaluation (SAFE) report is

currently in preparation and will be

published in 1995. If appropriate, the

Assistant Administrator for Fisheries,

NOAA (AA) may reexamine the quota

levels and make determinations on

adjustments to future quotas.

Large Coastal and Pelagic Shark Quotas

The framework provisions of the FMP

allow the AA to make adjustments in

the management measures in order to

achieve the objectives of the FMP.

NMFS has determined that the 1994

semiannual quotas of 1,285 mt, which

represented for the year only a 5 percent

increase over 1993, should be set as the

semiannual commercial quotas for the

large coastals group for 1995. This, in

the opinion of NMFS, represents a

reasonable compromise between

alternatives, pending future scientific

analyses that may suggest the need for

different quotas.

The alternative of increasing the

commercial quotas as planned in the

FMP was rejected primarily on the basis

of recommendations from the SEW and

members of the OT. The SEW

concluded that ‘‘the weight of evidence

does not support the previous (FMP)

recommendation that the 1994 or 1995

TAC should automatically increase.’’

The OT met in July 1994, and generally

agreed with this conclusion. Thus, the

rebuilding plan outlined in the FMP has

been determined to be inadequate to

achieve the goal of rebuilding the large

coastal sharks resource to a level

consistent with the maximum

sustainable yield (MSY). As a result,

NMFS has rejected planned quota

increases for 1995. Whether the selected

semiannual quotas of 1,285 mt

(equivalent to the 1994 semiannual

quotas) will lead to rebuilding in 1995

and beyond is currently uncertain. The

likelihood of stock rebuilding for this

and other quota levels will be addressed

in future stock assessments.

In terms of the semiannual quota

increase that has already gone into

effect, NMFS believes that the 5 percent

reduction in quotas necessary to return

to the 1993 level could have a large

negative impact on the large coastal

shark fishing industry, while it is

unlikely to change substantially the

future dynamics of the large coastal

shark resource. Until recently, the

fishing industry had anticipated that the

scheduled increases in the FMP would

take place, and had planned operations

accordingly. Subsequently, the industry

has had to replan and scale down

projected production schedules. Further

scaling down could result in greater

negative consequences which, in the

opinion of NMFS, may not be

warranted.

In terms of benefits to the large coastal

shark resource, NMFS believes that

action to forestall the planned 30.3

percent increase of the 1995 semiannual

quotas for the year over the 1993 quotas

has far greater significance for the future

viability of the various shark stocks.

NMFS believes that it is not worth

putting the industry at a disadvantage

for the sake of a quota reduction of the

order of 5 percent, which may have

been within the margin of error of quota

monitoring capabilities in the past.

Comments received from the

Delaware Division of Fish and Wildlife

through the Delaware Coastal

Management Program recommended
Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 84 / Tuesday, May 2, 1995 / Rules and Regulations 21469

that the quota for 1995 be further

reduced. Three conservation

organizations and numerous individuals

also requested that the quota be

reduced. Large reductions in the

established quota would likely cause

substantial financial hardship for

vessels already commercially fishing for

large coastal sharks. A complete closure

of the established directed shark fishery

for large coastal sharks would result in

severe financial hardships for vessels

already participating in the fishery, and

could result in the displacement of

vessels and crews from the large coastal

shark fishery into other fisheries,

including pelagic and small coastal

sharks.

The Delaware Coastal Management

Program has requested additional

information concerning the basis for

maintaining the quota at status quo,

expressing a preference that the quota

be further reduced. The AA has agreed

to continue discussion on quota levels

with Delaware officials, and Delaware

officials have agreed that the proposed

quota should be established by a final

rule prior to a final resolution of this

issue, because otherwise the fishery

would be unrestricted.

While the 1994 SEW focused on the

large coastal shark species group,

declining catch per unit of effort and life

history characteristics indicating low

productivity for pelagics and small

coastals also suggest that a prudent

approach is warranted for these groups.

No new analyses were presented upon

which to modify MSY or TAC of the

pelagic and small coastal sharks.

Accordingly, NMFS sets the semiannual

commercial quotas for large coastal and

pelagic sharks for 1995 at the 1994

levels. At present, no quota has been

established for the small coastal species

group. When analyses are presented, the

AA may propose an appropriate quota

for small coastal sharks.

NMFS also removes the specification

of the year from those parts of the

regulatory text referring to quotas. Thus,

if a change in quota level from a

previous year is not published, a change

in the regulatory text will not be

necessary to continue the previous level

for the new year.

Classification

The AA has determined that this rule

is necessary for conservation and

management of shark resources in the

Atlantic Ocean and is consistent with

the national standards and other

provisions of the Magnuson Act, and

other applicable law. This final rule has

been determined to be not significant for

purposes of E.O. 12866. The quotas for

1995 are within the range analyzed in

the Regulatory Flexibility Analysis

(RFA) included in the EA/RIR prepared

for the FMP and no new RFA has been

prepared.

List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 678

Fisheries, Fishing, Reporting and

recordkeeping requirements.

Dated: April 26, 1995.

Gary Matlock,

Program Management Officer, National

Marine Fisheries Service.

For the reasons set out in the

preamble, 50 CFR part 678 is amended

as follows:

PART 678—ATLANTIC SHARKS

1. The authority citation for part 678

continues to read as follows:

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

2. Section 678.24, paragraph (b) is

revised to read as follows:

§ 678.24 Commercial quotas.

* * * * *

(b) Semiannual quotas. The following

commercial quotas apply:

(1) For the period January 1 through

June 30:

(i) Large coastal species—1,285 metric

tons, dressed weight.

(ii) Pelagic species—290 metric tons,

dressed weight.

(2) For the period July 1 through

December 31:

(i) Large coastal species—1,285 metric

tons, dressed weight.

(ii) Pelagic species—290 metric tons,

dressed weight.

* * * * *

[FR Doc. 95–10738 Filed 4–27–95; 1:36 pm]

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