Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 108 / Tuesday, June 5, 2001 / Proposed Rules 30149

Dated: May 30, 2001.

Alexandra Pitts,

Acting Manager, California and Nevada

Operations Office.

[FR Doc. 01–14052 Filed 6–4–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310–55–P

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration

50 CFR Part 648

[Docket No. 010515128–1128-01; I.D.

041801C]

Fisheries of the Northeastern United

States; Black Sea Bass Fishery

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),

Commerce.

ACTION: Advance notice of proposed

rulemaking; notice of a control date for

the purposes of controlling capacity or

latent effort in the black sea bass

commercial fishery.

SUMMARY: NMFS announces that it is

considering, and is seeking public

comment on, a proposed rulemaking to

place additional controls on access to

the black sea bass (Centropristis striata)

fishery under the Magnuson-Stevens

Fishery Conservation and Management

Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act). This

announcement is intended , in part, to

discourage speculative increases in

effort or capacity while the Mid-Atlantic

Fishery Management Council (Council)

and NMFS are considering whether and

how to additionally control access in

this fishery. The date of publication of

this announcement, June 5, 2001, shall

be known as the control date and may

be used for establishing revised

eligibility criteria for participation in

the fishery; i.e., the level of fishing

activity after this date will not

necessarily be used for future eligibility

criteria.

DATES: Written comments must be

received on or before 5 p.m., local time,

July 5, 2001.

ADDRESSES: Written comments should

be sent to Daniel T. Furlong, Executive

Director, Mid-Atlantic Fishery

Management Council, Room 2115

Federal Building, 300 South Street,

Dover, DE 19904. Mark the outside of

the envelope, ‘‘Comments on Black Sea

Bass Control Date.’’ Comments also may

be sent via facsimile (fax) to (302) 674–

5399. Comments will not be accepted if

submitted via e-mail or the Internet.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Jennifer L. Anderson, Fishery

Management Specialist, (978) 281–9226,

e-mail: Jennifer.Anderson@noaa.gov or

Christopher M. Moore, Ph.D., Deputy

Director, Mid-Atlantic Fishery

Management Council, (302) 674–2331.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The black

sea bass fishery is a major fishery on the

Atlantic coast that extends from Cape

Hatteras north to Maine. Regulations

implementing Amendment 9 to the

Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea

Bass Fishery Management Plan (FMP)

(61 FR 58461, November 16, 1996)

control fishing mortality on black sea

bass through a variety of management

measures including a commercial quota,

a limit on the number of commercial

permits, gear regulations, and minimum

fish size restrictions.

The most recent assessment on black

sea bass, completed in June 1998,

indicates that black sea bass are overexploited and at a low biomass level

(27th Stock Assessment Workshop).

However, more recent results from the

Northeast Fisheries Science Center’s

spring survey indicate that the black sea

bass biomass has increased in recent

years. In fact, the preliminary biomass

index for 2000 is the highest in the time

series since 1976.

Commercial landings of black sea

bass, which are harvested in Federal

and state waters using a variety of gears,

have varied without trend since 1981,

ranging from a low of 2.0 million lb

(907.2 mt) in 1994, to a high of 4.3

million lb (1950.4 mt) in 1984. Since

1998, commercial landings have been

constrained by quotas at an annual level

of 3.025 million lb (1372.1 mt).

A moratorium on the entry of

additional commercial vessels into the

black sea bass fishery was put in place

on November 16, 1996, with the

implementation of Amendment 9 to the

FMP. However, the qualifying criteria

for obtaining initial permits under the

moratorium were liberal and only

required that vessels provide a black sea

bass landing receipt demonstrating at

least 1 lb (0.45 kg) of black sea bass

landed between January 26, 1989, and

January 26, 1993. Based on this

criterion, a number of vessels attained a

permit even though those vessels only

rarely or occasionally landed black sea

bass during this period. There were 992

and 974 Federal black sea bass permit

holders in 1999 and 2000, respectively.

Based on dealer reports, 795 and 727 of

these vessels in 1999 and 2000,

respectively, landed black sea bass.

However, 83 percent of the permit

holders participating in the black sea

bass fishery in 1999 accounted for less

than 9 percent of the black sea bass

landings. The 1999 fishing year is the

last full fishing year of complete

landings information.

The management measures for black

sea bass implemented under

Amendment 9 to the FMP have begun

to rebuild the black sea bass stock.

Although the Council and NMFS are

concerned that increasing stock

abundance may stimulate the use of

unused capacity or effort by permit

holders, there is equal concern that

management measures have reduced

fishing opportunities and income for

commercial fishermen who have

historically depended on black sea bass

for a major portion of their income. An

activation of latent effort could quickly

erode the benefits to traditional

operators who have sacrificed income as

part of the rebuilding program.

A control date of June 5, 2001 is

intended to discourage speculative

activation of previously unused effort or

capacity in the black sea bass fishery

while alternative allocation schemes

and potential management regimes to

control capacity or latent effort are

discussed and possibly developed and

implemented. The control date may be

used by the Council and NMFS in

determining historical or traditional

participation in the black sea bass

fishery. The control date communicates

to black sea bass permit holders that

performance or fishing effort after that

date may not be treated the same as

performance or effort that was expanded

prior to the control date. The Council

and NMFS could choose different and

variably weighted methods to qualify

fishermen based on the type and length

of participation in the fishery or on the

quantity of landings. A control date

does not commit the Council or NMFS

to develop any particular management

regime or criteria for participation in

this fishery. The Council or NMFS may

choose a different control date, or may

choose a management program that does

not make use of such a date.

30150 Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 108 / Tuesday, June 5, 2001 / Proposed Rules

The Council and NMFS may also

choose to take no further action to

control entry or access to the fishery, in

which case the control date may be

rescinded. Any action by the Council or

NMFS will be taken pursuant to the

requirements for FMP development

established under the MagnusonStevens Act.

This notification also gives the public

notice that interested participants

should locate and preserve records that

substantiate and verify their

participation in the black sea bass

fishery in Federal waters.

This control date has been determined

to be not significant under Executive

Order 12866.

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

Dated: May 24, 2001.

John Oliver,

Acting Deputy Assistant Administrator for

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service.

[FR Doc. 01–13833 Filed 6–4–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510–22–S