Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 23 / Thursday, February 4, 2016 / Proposed Rules 5979 

Background 

The final rule implementing 

Amendment 2 to the Queen Conch FMP 

and Amendment 5 to the Reef Fish FMP 

(2010 Caribbean ACL Amendment) 

established annual catch limits (ACLs) 

and AMs for species and species groups 

that at the time were classified as 

undergoing overfishing (i.e., parrotfish, 

snapper, grouper, and queen conch) (76 

FR 82404, December 30, 2011). The final 

rule implementing Amendment 3 to the 

Queen Conch FMP, Amendment 6 to the 

Reef Fish FMP, Amendment 5 to the 

Spiny Lobster FMP, and Amendment 3 

to the Coral FMP, established ACLs and 

AMs for the remaining Councilmanaged species and species groups 

which were not undergoing overfishing 

at the time or for which the overfishing 

status was unknown (e.g., grunts, 

squirrelfish, jacks) (76 FR 82414, 

December 30, 2011). As described at 

§ 622.12(a) for reef fish, spiny lobster, 

and corals and § 622.491(b) for queen 

conch, the current AMs in the Caribbean 

EEZ require NMFS to shorten the length 

of the fishing season for a species/

species group in the year following a 

determination that the applicable 3-year 

landings average exceeded the 

respective ACL. The extent to which 

fishing seasons are shortened equates to 

the number of days necessary to remove 

the overage in pounds and to therefore 

constrain landings to the ACL. Pursuant 

to the regulations at §§ 622.12(a) and 

622.491(b), any such AM-based closures 

remain in effect only during the 

particular fishing year in which they are 

implemented. However, the AM closure 

language in the four authorizing FMPs 

states that any AM-based closure will 

remain in effect until modified by the 

Council, thereby carrying these AMbased closures over from year to year 

unless or until the closures are revised 

by subsequent Council action. 

This inconsistent language between 

the FMPs and the implementing 

regulations may create confusion to 

fishers and the public about whether an 

AM-based closure for a specific species/ 

species group will continue in 

subsequent years if an AM is triggered. 

The AM Application Amendment 

would correct the inconsistency 

between the authorizing FMPs and the 

regulatory language at §§ 622.12(a) and 

622.491(b) by revising the text within 

the four FMPs describing how AMs are 

applied to be consistent with the 

language in the regulations. Specifically, 

the phrase in the four authorizing FMPs 

that states ‘‘The needed changes will 

remain in effect until modified by the 

Council,’’ which describes the duration 

of AMs, would be removed from the 

four FMPs. The result of this proposed 

change would be that under both the 

authorizing FMPs and AM-based 

closure regulatory language, an AM 

closure would only apply for the fishing 

year in which it was implemented. This 

approach is consistent with the intent of 

the Council and implementing 

regulations used by NMFS to apply AMs 

in the Caribbean EEZ. The current 

process used by NMFS and the Council 

to apply AMs in the Caribbean EEZ 

would not change as a result of this 

proposed amendment, thus this action 

would have no additional direct or 

indirect economic, social, or biological/ 

ecological effects. 

A proposed rule that would 

implement the measures outlined in the 

AM Application Amendment has been 

drafted. In accordance with the 

Magnuson-Stevens Act, NMFS is 

evaluating the AM Application 

Amendment and the proposed rule to 

determine whether it is consistent with 

the FMPs, the Magnuson-Stevens Act, 

and other applicable law. If that 

determination is affirmative, NMFS will 

publish the proposed rule in the Federal 

Register for public review and 

comment. 

Consideration of Public Comments 

The Council has submitted the AM 

Application Amendment for Secretarial 

review, approval, and implementation. 

Comments received by April 4, 2016, 

will be considered by NMFS in its 

decision to approve, disapprove, or 

partially approve the AM Application 

Amendment. Comments received after 

that date will not be considered by 

NMFS in this decision. All relevant 

comments received by NMFS on the 

amendment or the proposed rule during 

their respective comment periods will 

be addressed in the final rule. 

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

Dated: January 29, 2016. 

Emily H. Menashes, 

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2016–02092 Filed 2–3–16; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 622 

[Docket No. 151217999–6045–01] 

RIN 0648–BF66 

Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of 

Mexico, and South Atlantic; Dolphin 

and Wahoo Resources of the Atlantic; 

Commercial Dolphin Fishery of the 

Atlantic; Control Date 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Advanced notice of proposed 

rulemaking; consideration of a control 

date. 

SUMMARY: This notice announces the 

establishment of a control date of June 

30, 2015, that the South Atlantic Fishery 

Management Council (Council) may use 

if it decides to create restrictions 

limiting participation in the dolphin 

commercial sector of the dolphin and 

wahoo fishery in the Atlantic exclusive 

economic zone. Anyone entering the 

sector after the control date will not be 

assured of future access should a 

management regime that limits 

participation in the sector be prepared 

and implemented. This announcement 

is intended, in part, to promote 

awareness of the potential eligibility 

criteria for future access so as to 

discourage speculative entry into the 

Atlantic dolphin commercial sector 

while the Council and NMFS consider 

whether and how access to the sector 

should be controlled. NMFS invites 

comments on the establishment of this 

control date. 

DATES: Written comments must be 

received by March 7, 2016. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

identified by ‘‘NOAA–NMFS–2016– 

0001’’ by either of the following 

methods: 

• Electronic Submission: Submit all 

electronic public comments via the 

Federal e-Rulemaking Portal. Go to 

www.regulations.gov/

#!docketDetail;D=NOAA-NMFS-2016- 

0001, click the ‘‘Comment Now!’’ icon, 

complete the required fields, and enter 

or attach your comments. 

• Mail: Submit written comments to 

Mary Janine Vara, NMFS Southeast 

Regional Office, 263 13th Avenue 

South, St. Petersburg, FL 33701. 

Instructions: Comments sent by any 

other method, to any other address or 

individual, or received after the end of 


asabaliauskas on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS
5980 Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 23 / Thursday, February 4, 2016 / Proposed Rules 

the comment period, may not be 

considered by NMFS. All comments 

received are a part of the public record 

and will generally be posted for public 

viewing on www.regulations.gov 

without change. All personal identifying 

information (e.g., name, address, etc.), 

confidential business information, or 

otherwise sensitive information 

submitted voluntarily by the sender will 

be publicly accessible. NMFS will 

accept anonymous comments (enter ‘‘N/ 

A’’ in the required fields if you wish to 

remain anonymous). 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Mary Janine Vara, NMFS Southeast 

Regional Office, telephone: 727–824– 

5305, or email: mary.vara@noaa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

dolphin and wahoo fishery in the 

Atlantic is managed under the fishery 

management plan (FMP) for the Dolphin 

and Wahoo Fishery off the Atlantic 

States. The FMP was prepared by the 

Council and is implemented by NMFS 

under the authority of the MagnusonStevens Fishery Conservation and 

Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens 

Act) through regulations at 50 CFR part 

622. 

The Council voted at the September 

2015 meeting to establish a control date 

of June 30, 2015, for the Atlantic 

dolphin commercial sector of the 

dolphin and wahoo fishery. The control 

date enables the Council to inform 

current and potential participants that it 

is considering creating restrictions 

limiting participation in the Atlantic 

dolphin commercial sector. 

This notice informs current and 

potential participants in the Atlantic 

dolphin commercial sector within the 

dolphin and wahoo fishery that after 

June 30, 2015, they may not be ensured 

participation under future management 

of the fishery. If the Council decides to 

prepare an amendment to the FMP to 

restrict participation in the Atlantic 

dolphin commercial sector in relation to 

this control date, an analysis of specific 

biological, economic, and social effects 

will be prepared at that time. 

Publication of the control date in the 

Federal Register informs participants of 

the Council’s considerations, and gives 

notice to anyone entering the Atlantic 

dolphin commercial sector after the 

control date that they would not be 

assured of future access to the sector 

should management changes be 

implemented that would restrict 

participation. Implementation of any 

such changes would require preparation 

of an amendment to the FMP and 

publication of a notice of availability 

and proposed rule in the Federal 

Register with public comment periods, 

and, if approved by the Secretary of 

Commerce, issuance of a final rule. 

Fishermen are not guaranteed future 

participation in a fishery or sector 

regardless of their entry date or intensity 

of participation in the fishery or sector 

before or after the control date under 

consideration. The Council 

subsequently may choose a different 

control date or they may choose a 

management regime without using a 

control date. The Council also may 

choose to take no further action to 

control entry or access to the Atlantic 

dolphin commercial sector, in which 

case the control date may be rescinded. 

This notification also gives the public 

notice that interested participants 

should locate and preserve records that 

substantiate and verify their 

participation in the Atlantic dolphin 

commercial sector of the dolphin and 

wahoo fishery. 

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

Dated: January 29, 2016. 

Samuel D. Rauch III, 

Deputy Assistant for Regulatory Programs, 

National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2016–02093 Filed 2–3–16; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 


asabaliauskas on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS