Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 216 / Wednesday, November 9, 2005 / Proposed Rules 67985 

* * * * * 

Dated: November 1, 2005. 

Craig Manson, 

Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and 

Parks. 

[FR Doc. 05–22190 Filed 11–8–05; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4310–55–C 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 622 

[Docket No. 051031284–5284–01; I.D. 

102605B] 

RIN 0648–AT64 

Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of 

Mexico, and South Atlantic; Coastal 

Migratory Pelagic Resources of the 

Atlantic; Commercial Spanish 

Mackerel Fishery of the Atlantic; 

Control Date 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Advance notice of proposed 

rulemaking; consideration of a control 

date. 

SUMMARY: This notice announces the 

South Atlantic Fishery Management 

Council (SAFMC) is considering 

additional management measures to 

limit entry into the commercial fishery 

for Spanish mackerel in the exclusive 

economic zone of the Atlantic (South 

Atlantic EEZ). Possible measures 

include the establishment of a limited 

entry program to control participation or 

effort in the commercial Spanish 

mackerel fishery in the Atlantic. If a 

limited entry program is established, the 

SAMFC is considering June 15, 2004, as 

a possible control date. 

DATES: Comments must be submitted by 

December 9, 2005. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

by any of the following methods: 

• E-mail: 0648–

AT64.ANPR@noaa.gov. Include in the 

subject line of the e-mail comment the 

following document identifier: 0648–

AT64. 

• Federal e-Rulemaking Portal: http:// 

www.regulations.gov. Follow the 

instructions for submitting comments. 

• Mail: Steve Branstetter, Southeast 

Regional Office, NMFS, 263 13th 

Avenue South, St. Petersburg, FL 33701. 

• Fax: 727–824–5308. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Steve Branstetter, 727–824–5305. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

commercial fishery for Spanish 

mackerel in the Atlantic EEZ is 

managed under the Fishery 

Management Plan for the Coastal 

Migratory Pelagic Resources of the 

Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico (FMP). The 

FMP was prepared jointly by the 

SAFMC and the Gulf of Mexico Fishery 

Management Council (GMFMC) and 

implemented under the authority of the 

Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 

Conservation and Management Act. 

The SAFMC anticipates that future 

action may be necessary to control effort 

in the Atlantic Spanish mackerel fishery 

by restricting the number of 

participants. The SAFMC has concerns 

about increasing fishing effort in the 

Atlantic EEZ and wants to prevent the 

possibility of the development of excess 

harvesting capacity for the Spanish 

mackerel fishery of the region. Should 

the SAFMC and GMFMC take future 

action to restrict participation in the 

fishery, they may use June 15, 2004, as 

a possible control date. This control 

date would replace an existing control 

date of July 2, 1993 (58 FR 35914, July 

2, 1993). Implementation of any 

program to restrict access in the Atlantic 

Spanish mackerel fishery would require 

preparation of an amendment to the 

FMP and publication of a notice of 

availability of the amendment with a 

comment period, publication of a 

proposed rule with a public comment 

period, approval of the amendment, and 

issuance of a final implementing rule. 

Consideration of a control date does 

not commit the SAFMC, GMFMC, or 

NMFS to any particular management 

regime or criteria for entry into the 

commercial Spanish mackerel fishery. 

Fishermen are not guaranteed future 

participation in a fishery regardless of 

their entry date or intensity of 

participation in the fishery before or 

after the control date under 

consideration. Use of the control date in 

future management actions would mean 

that anyone entering the fishery after the 

control date would not be assured of 

future access. Nevertheless, even 

fishermen who are permitted prior to 

the control date also are not guaranteed 

future participation in a fishery. The 

SAFMC may choose to give variably 

weighted consideration to fishermen 

active in the fishery before and after the 

control date. Other qualifying criteria, 

such as documentation of landings and 

sales, may be applied for entry into the 

fishery. The SAFMC subsequently may 

choose a different control date, or they 

may choose a management regime 

without using a control date. The 

SAFMC also may choose to take no 

further action to control entry or access 

to the fishery, in which case the control 

date may be rescinded. 

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

Dated: November 4, 2005. 

James W. Balsiger, 

Acting Deputy Assistant Administrator for 

Regulatory Programs, National Marine 

Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 05–22364 Filed 11–8–05; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–S