Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 91 / Wednesday, May 12, 2010 / Proposed Rules 26703 

Electronic Submissions: Submit all 

electronic public comments via the 

Federal eRulemaking Portal http:// 

www.regulations.gov. 

• Fax: 206–526–6736, Attn: Jamie 

Goen. 

• Mail: Barry Thom, Acting 

Administrator, Northwest Region, 

NMFS, 7600 Sand Point Way NE, 

Seattle, WA 98115–0070, Attn: Jamie 

Goen. 

Instructions: All comments received 

are a part of the public record and will 

generally be posted to http:// 

www.regulations.gov without change. 

All Personal Identifying Information (for 

example, name, address, etc.) 

voluntarily submitted by the commenter 

may be publicly accessible. Do not 

submit Confidential Business 

Information or otherwise sensitive or 

protected information.NMFS will accept 

anonymous comments (enter N/A in the 

required fields if you wish to remain 

anonymous). Attachments to electronic 

comments will be accepted in Microsoft 

Word, Excel, WordPerfect, or Adobe 

PDF file formats only. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Jamie Goen, phone: 206–526–4656, fax: 

206–526–6736, and e-mail 

jamie.goen@noaa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Electronic Access 

This notice of availability is 

accessible via the Internet at the Office 

of the Federal Register’s Website at 

http://www.gpoaccess.gov/fr/ 

index.html. Background information 

and documents are available at the 

Pacific Fishery Management Council’s 

website at http://www.pcouncil.org/. 

The Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 

Conservation and Management Act 

(Magnuson-Stevens Act) requires that 

each regional fishery management 

council submit any FMP or plan 

amendment it prepares to NMFS for 

review and approval, disapproval, or 

partial approval. The Magnuson-Stevens 

Act also requires that NMFS, upon 

receiving an FMP or amendment, 

immediately publish a notice that the 

FMP or amendment is available for 

public review and comment. NMFS will 

consider public comments received 

during the comment period described 

above in determining whether to 

approve Amendments 20 and 21 to the 

FMP. 

Amendment 20 would modify the 

FMP to create the structure and 

management details of the trawl 

rationalization program for the limited 

entry trawl fishery. Amendment 21 

would modify the FMP to allocate the 

groundfish stocks between trawl and 

non-trawl fisheries and within trawl 

fisheries. The trawl rationalization 

program would consist of: (1) an 

individual fishing quota (IFQ) program 

for the shore-based trawl fleet; and (2) 

cooperative (coop) programs for the atsea trawl fleet. The trawl rationalization 

program (Amendments 20 and 21) is 

intended to increase net economic 

benefits, create individual economic 

stability, provide full utilization of the 

trawl sector allocation, consider 

environmental impacts, and achieve 

individual accountability of catch and 

bycatch. 

NMFS will review Amendments 20 

and 21 in their entirety. However, due 

to the complexity of the proposed 

fishery management measures, the 

proposed rule that will publish shortly 

after this notice of availability (NOA) for 

the FMP amendments, proposes only 

certain key components that would be 

necessary to have permits and 

endorsements issued in time for use in 

the 2011 fishery and in order to have the 

2011 harvest specifications reflect the 

new allocation scheme. Specifically, the 

proposed rule would establish the 

formal allocations set forth under 

Amendment 21 and establish 

procedures for initial issuance of 

permits, endorsements, and quota 

shares under the IFQ and Coop 

programs. In addition, the proposed rule 

would restructure the entire Pacific 

Coast groundfish regulations at 50 CFR 

part 660 to more closely track the 

organization of the proposed 

management measures and to make the 

total groundfish regulations clearer. 

If Amendments 20 and 21 are 

approved, NMFS plans to propose 

additional program details in a future 

proposed rule. Such additional details 

would include: Program components 

applicable to IFQ gear switching, 

observer programs, retention 

requirements, equipment requirements, 

catch monitors, catch weighing 

requirements, coop permits/agreements, 

first receiver site licenses, quota share 

accounts, vessel accounts, further 

tracking and monitoring components, 

and economic data collection 

requirements. NMFS is also planning a 

future rule for the cost recovery program 

based on a recommended methodology 

yet to be developed by the Council. 

NMFS welcomes comments on the 

proposed FMP amendments through the 

end of the comment period. In order to 

encourage more informed public 

comment on the amendments, the 

preamble to the proposed rule includes 

a general description of the full trawl 

rationalization program, including 

general descriptions of program details 

that will be implemented through 

additional rulemakings at a later date. 

A proposed rule to implement initial 

allocations and appeals for Amendment 

20 and the provisions of Amendment 21 

has been submitted by the Council for 

Secretarial review and approval. NMFS 

expects to publish and request public 

review and comment on the proposed 

regulations to implement Amendments 

20 and 21 in the near future. Public 

comments on the proposed rule must be 

received by the end of the comment 

period on the amendment to be 

considered in the approval/disapproval 

decision on the amendment, which 

must occur no later than within 30 days 

of the end of the comment period. All 

comments received by the end of the 

comment period for the amendment, 

whether specifically directed to the 

amendments or the proposed rule, will 

be considered in the approval/ 

disapproval decision. 

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

Dated: May 7, 2010. 

James P. Burgess 

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2010–11346 Filed 5–11–10; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–S 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 697 

[Docket No. 0912011421–0200–01] 

RIN 0648-AY41 

Atlantic Coastal Fisheries Cooperative 

Management Act Provisions; Weakfish 

Fishery 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Proposed rule; request for 

comments. 

SUMMARY: NMFS proposes to decrease 

the incidental catch allowance for 

weakfish caught in the Exclusive 

Economic Zone (EEZ), from 150 lb (68 

kg) to no more than 100 lb (45 kg) per 

day or trip, whichever is longer in 

duration. The intent of this proposed 

rule is to modify regulations for the 

Atlantic coast stock of weakfish to be 

more compatible with Addendum IV to 

Amendment 4 of the Atlantic States 

Marine Fisheries Commission’s 

(Commission) Interstate Fishery 

Management Plan (ISFMP) for weakfish. 

Such action is authorized in the Atlantic 

WReier-Aviles on DSKGBLS3C1PROD with PROPOSALS

26704 Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 91 / Wednesday, May 12, 2010 / Proposed Rules 

Coastal Fisheries Cooperative 

Management Act (Atlantic Coastal Act). 

DATES: Written comments must be 

received on or before June 11, 2010. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, 

identified by RIN 0648-AY41, by any 

one of the following methods: 

• Electronic Submissions: Submit all 

electronic public comments via the 

Federal e-Rulemaking Portal: http:// 

www.regulations.gov. 

• Mail: Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries 

Service, 1315 East West Highway, Suite 

13317, Silver Spring, MD 20910, Attn: 

State-Federal Team. Mark the outside of 

the envelope: ‘‘Comments on Weakfish 

Addendum IV.’’ 

• Fax: (301) 713–0596, Attn: StateFederal Team. 

Instructions: No comments will be 

posted for public viewing until after the 

comment period has closed. All 

comments received are a part of the 

public record and will generally be 

posted to http://regulations.gov without 

change. All Personal Identifying 

Information (for example, name, 

address, etc.) voluntarily submitted by 

the commenter may be publicly 

accessible. Do not submit Confidential 

Business Information or otherwise 

sensitive or protected information. 

NMFS will accept anonymous 

comments (enter N/A in the required 

fields, if you wish to remain 

anonymous). You may submit 

attachments to electronic comments in 

Microsoft Word, Excel, WordPerfect, or 

Adobe PDF file formats only. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Brian Hooker, (301) 713 2334. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

Pursuant to its authority under 

section 5103 of the Atlantic Coastal Act, 

16 U.S.C. 5101–5108, NMFS proposes to 

modify the current weakfish 

conservation measures in the EEZ. The 

Atlantic Coastal Act provides that, in 

the absence of an approved and 

implemented Fishery Management Plan 

under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 

Conservation and Management Act 

(Magnuson-Stevens Act) (16 U.S.C. 1801 

et seq.) and, after consultation with the 

appropriate Fishery Management 

Council(s), the Secretary of Commerce 

(Secretary) may implement regulations 

to govern fishing in the EEZ (i.e., from 

3 to 200 nm offshore). These regulations 

must be (1) compatible with the 

effective implementation of an ISFMP 

developed by the Commission, and (2) 

consistent with the national standards 

set forth in section 301 of the 

Magnuson-Stevens Act. 

On November 3, 2009, the 

Commission adopted Addendum IV to 

Amendment 4 to the ISFMP for 

Weakfish (Addendum IV), in response 

to the stock status of weakfish. A recent 

peer-reviewed assessment found the 

weakfish stock to be depleted, with 

spawning stock biomass estimated to be 

three percent of an unfished stock, well 

below the 20–percent threshold and 30– 

percent target reference points approved 

by the Commission’s Weakfish 

Management Board as part of 

Addendum IV. The decline in biomass 

reflects a sustained rise in natural 

mortality after 1995, rather than fishing 

mortality, which has been modest and 

stable over the same time period. In 

response to these findings, the 

Commission’s Weakfish Management 

Board approved management measures 

to reduce exploitation of weakfish by 

more than 50–percent in both the 

recreational and commercial sectors. 

Addendum IV requires states to 

implement a one-fish recreational creel 

limit, 100 lb (45 kg) commercial trip 

limit, and 100 lb (45 kg) commercial 

bycatch limit during closed seasons. 

Addendum IV maintains the current 12– 

inch (30.5 cm) minimum size for 

weakfish, but lowers the exception to 

this management measure, the 

undersized fish limit, from 300 to 100 

undersized fish per commercial trip. 

The sale of undersized fish continues to 

be prohibited. In implementing 

Amendment 4 to the weakfish plan, 

NMFS never adopted the 300 

undersized fish exception to the 12– 

inch (30.5 cm) minimum fish size in 

Federal waters. NMFS continues the 

policy of no exemptions to the 

minimum size limit in the weakfish 

fishery here by not proposing a 100 

undersized fish exception to the current 

minimum size limit in Federal waters. 

The Commission recommended in 

Addendum IV that NMFS promulgate 

all necessary regulations to implement 

complementary measures to those 

approved in the addendum. 

Status of the Weakfish Fishery 

An assessment of the weakfish stock 

was completed in 2009 by the Weakfish 

Stock Assessment Subcommittee and 

peer reviewed by the 48th Stock 

Assessment Review Committee at the 

48th Northeast Regional Stock 

Assessment Workshop (SAW). The 

assessment includes fishery data and 

survey indices through 2007. The 

results of the assessment indicate that 

weakfish abundance has declined 

markedly since 1995, total mortality is 

high, non-fishing mortality has 

increased, and the stock is currently in 

a depleted state. The weakfish stock is 

at an all-time low of 10.8 million lb 

(4,899 mt), far below the biomass 

threshold of 22.4 million pounds 

(10,179 mt). At this stock size, recent 

fishery removals (landings and dead 

discards combined) represent a 

significant proportion of the remaining 

biomass. While the decline in the stock 

primarily results from a change in the 

natural mortality of weakfish in recent 

years, it is further exacerbated by 

continued removals by the commercial 

and recreational fisheries. Natural 

mortality has risen substantially since 

1995, with factors such as predation, 

competition, and changes in the 

environment having a stronger influence 

on recent weakfish stock dynamics than 

fishing mortality. Given current high 

natural mortality levels, stock 

projections indicate that the stock is 

unlikely to recover rapidly, even under 

a harvest moratorium. 

Proposed Action 

At present, Federal regulations do not 

differentiate between recreational and 

commercial weakfish fishing; current 

Federal regulations simply prohibit 

possession of more than 150 pounds of 

weakfish in any one day or trip 

regardless of fishing sector. The 

implementation of Commission 

Addendum IV would change that. There 

would be no changes or exceptions to 

the current 12–inch minimum size 

limit. 

Commercial Fishery 

Commission Addendum IV would 

lower the weakfish possession limit 

from 150 pounds to 100 pounds (45 kg). 

The proposed compatible Federal rule 

would allow commercial fisheries to 

possess no more than 100 lb (45 kg) of 

weakfish during any one day or trip, 

whichever is longer in duration. This 

change would be a decrease of 50 lb (23 

kg) per day or trip from the current 

Federal regulation of 150 lb (68 kg). This 

possession limit would be year-round, 

regardless of state-established fishing 

seasons. According the Commission’s 

Weakfish Technical Committee, this 

reduction could realize a 60–percent 

coastwide reduction in weakfish 

landings. All other weakfish 

prohibitions found in 50 CFR 697.7, 

including the 12–inch minimum fish 

size, and the weakfish flynet closure off 

the North Carolina coast, would remain 

in effect. It should be noted that the 

current Federal 12–inch (30.5–cm) 

minimum fish size is more restrictive 

than that required under Addendum IV, 

as the Federal regulation does not allow 

for any fish to be retained below the size 

limit. 

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Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 91 / Wednesday, May 12, 2010 / Proposed Rules 26705 

Recreational Fishery 

Under the Commission’s Addendum 

IV, and proposed herein, the 

recreational fishing possession (bag/ 

creel) limit would be reduced to one 

fish per person per day. Analysis by the 

Commission in the public information 

document for Addendum IV indicated 

that a coastwide possession limit of one 

fish per person with a 12–inch 

minimum size could realize a 54– 

percent harvest reduction. The one fish 

coastwide creel limit at current 

minimum sizes will also discourage 

directed fishing for weakfish, and allow 

for a small harvest of weakfish while 

fishing for other species. 

These proposed commercial and 

recreational fishery management 

measures support the Commission’s 

ISFMP by being compatible with the 

effective implementation of the 

Commission’s Weakfish ISFMP. They 

are also consistent with the national 

standards set forth in section 301 of the 

Magnuson-Stevens Act, and would 

continue regulatory uniformity in state 

and Federal waters. This action would 

also be beneficial insofar as incongruous 

regulations can confuse stakeholders 

and complicate management. 

Classification 

This proposed rule is published under 

the authority of the Atlantic Coastal Act. 

Paragraphs (A) and (B) of section 

804(b)(1) of the Atlantic Coastal Act, 16 

U.S.C. 5103(a)-(b), authorize the 

Secretary to implement regulations in 

the EEZ in the absence of a MagnusonStevens Act fishery management plan. 

Such regulations must be necessary to 

support a Commission’s ISFMP, and 

consistent with the national standards 

set forth in section 301 of the 

Magnuson-Stevens Act. 

The Assistant Administrator for 

Fisheries has determined that this 

proposed action is compatible with the 

effective implementation of the 

Commission’s ISFMP for weakfish and 

consistent with the national standards 

of the Magnuson-Stevens Act, subject to 

further consideration after public 

comment. The Secretary, before making 

the final determination, will take into 

account data, views, and comments 

received during the comment period. 

The Chief Counsel for Regulation of 

the Department of Commerce 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. 

This proposed rule would be 

implemented in concert with 

complimentary regulations in the 

adjacent Atlantic coastal states. All 

entities affected by this rule are 

considered small entities by the SBA 

standard. Weakfish commercial fishing 

is regulated on a state-by-state basis 

through the Commission. Weakfish, 

which are caught predominantly in state 

waters, are caught incidentally to 

fisheries targeting other species of fish. 

The reduction in the possession limit 

should encourage fishers to avoid areas 

where weakfish bycatch might be a 

problem and/or return caught fish to the 

water as soon as practicable. 

Based on the total number of Federal 

permits in the affected states (there is 

not a Federal weakfish permit), an 

estimated total of 1,092 small entities 

could be impacted by this rule. The total 

2008 value of the commercial weakfish 

fishery in Federal waters was 

approximately $178,000. It is estimated 

that the 100 lb possession limit will 

reduce coastwide (state and Federal) 

landings by 60–percent. However, 

Federal data indicates that federallypermitted vessels are catching an 

average of less than 100 lb per trip, and 

would thus not realize any loss as a 

result of the proposed rule. Using the 

best data available, the estimate of 

impacts per entity as a result of this 

proposed rule is approximately $0.00 - 

$54.00 per year. Because weakfish are 

caught in multispecies trawl fisheries 

occurring among several states, gross 

revenue per trip accounting for all 

species could not be calculated, but 

NMFS is certain that the zero to de 

minimis loss in weakfish revenue does 

not represent a significant economic 

impact to any vessels comprising the 

universe of small vessels that may be 

affected. Accordingly, an initial 

regulatory flexibility analysis is not 

required and none has been prepared. 

Reporting and Recordkeeping 

Requirements 

This proposed rule would not impose 

any new reporting, recordkeeping, or 

other compliance requirements. 

There are no Federal rules which may 

duplicate, overlap, or conflict with the 

proposed action. This action is 

considered to be ‘‘not significant’’ under 

Executive Order 12866. 

List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 697 

Fisheries, Fishing. 

Dated: May 6, 2010. 

Samuel D. Rauch III, 

Deputy Assistant Administrator for 

Regulatory Programs, National Marine 

Fisheries Service. 

For the reasons set out in the 

preamble, 50 CFR part 697 is proposed 

to be amended as follows: 

PART 697 ATLANTIC COASTAL 

FISHERIES COOPERATIVE 

MANAGEMENT 

1. The authority citation for 50 CFR 

part 697 continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 16 U.S.C. 5101 et seq. 

2. In § 697.7, paragraphs (a)(1), (a)(2), 

and (a)(4) are revised to read as follows: 

§ 697.7 Prohibitions. 

(a) * * * 

(1) Fish for, harvest, possess, or retain 

any weakfish less than 12 inches (30.5 

cm) in total length (measured as a 

straight line along the bottom of the fish 

from the tip of the lower jaw with the 

mouth closed to the end of the lower tip 

of the tail) in or from the EEZ. 

(2) It is unlawful to possess more than 

1 weakfish per person, during any one 

day or trip, whichever is longer, when 

engaged in recreational fishing in the 

EEZ. 

* * * * * 

(4) It is unlawful to possess more than 

100 lb (45 kg) of weakfish during any 

one day or trip, whichever is longer, 

when engaged in commercial fishing in 

the EEZ. 

* * * * * 

[FR Doc. 2010–11339 Filed 5–11–10; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–S 

WReier-Aviles on DSKGBLS3C1PROD with PROPOSALS