Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 245 / Thursday, December 21, 1995 / Proposed Rules 66249

bycatch in South Atlantic penaeid

shrimp fisheries included in the

amendment.

Draft Amendment 2 would also

modify the management unit to include

the populations of brown and pink

shrimp occurring along the U.S. Atlantic

coast from the east coast of Florida,

including the Atlantic side of the

Florida Keys, to the North Carolina/

Virginia border. This amendment

includes measures to reduce bycatch

only in the penaeid shrimp fishery.

Shrimp trawls have a significant

bycatch of non-target finfish and

invertebrates, most of which are

discarded dead. This may reduce

ecosystem diversity, adversely impact

other fauna, and significantly reduce

yield in other fisheries directed at these

discarded species. The Council is

proposing regulations to address a

mandate established by the Atlantic

States Marine Fishery Commission to

minimize the impact of bycatch on

Spanish mackerel and weakfish

resources.

Also, the South Atlantic states, North

Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and

Florida are directed under the

interjurisdictional weakfish

management plan to implement

management measures that will reduce

bycatch of weakfish in shrimp trawls by

50 percent for the 1996 shrimp season.

The Council, in order to create

compatible regulations with the South

Atlantic states, is addressing bycatch in

Federal waters to ensure effective

reduction of weakfish bycatch

throughout the range of the species.

Management Measures under

Consideration

The following management measures

are under consideration by the Council

for inclusion in Amendment 2 to the

Shrimp FMP:

1. Add brown and pink shrimp to the

management unit,

2. Define overfishing for brown and

pink shrimp,

3. Define optimum yield for the pink

and brown shrimp fisheries,

4. Require the use of certified BRDs in

all penaeid shrimp trawls in the South

Atlantic Exclusive Economic Zone

(EEZ). All shrimp nets (any net with

mesh less than 2 1/2 inches (6.35 cm)

stretch mesh) and all nets greater than

15 ft (4.6 m) in footrope length (or

compatible with Turtle Excluder Device

requirements for try nets) that are used

as try (test) nets would be required to

use a certified BRD.

A. Upon implementation of

Amendment 2, BRDs that have passed

the operational testing phase of the

NMFS cooperative bycatch research

program (fish eyes, extended funnels

and large mesh) are de facto certified for

use in the EEZ.

B. Other BRDs will subsequently be

certified according to procedures and

criteria specified in item 5.

5. Establish a BRD certification

process and specify certification criteria

for new or modified BRDs. The Council

is specifically requesting input from

industry members concerning protocol

options for future BRD certification of

new or modified BRDs:

A. The following are options for BRD

certification protocol being considered

by the Council:

Option 1: The Council makes final

recommendations for certification to the

NMFS Regional Director;

Option 2: The Regional Director

makes the decision based on direct

application to NMFS; and

Option 3: BRDs developed, tested and

approved by state agencies, meeting the

criteria specified in the amendment,

may be used in the EEZ in lieu of BRDs

certified by NMFS.

Three geographical sub-options are

identified for Option 3 to specify where

state-approved BRDs would be allowed

for use in the EEZ:

i: Adjacent to the state in which the

BRD was approved,

ii: Throughout the EEZ in the South

Atlantic region, or

iii: In the EEZ by vessels registered in

the state where BRDs have been

approved.

B. The Amendment will also establish

certification criteria for new or modified

BRDs. New or modified BRDs must be

certified or approved by NMFS for use

in the South Atlantic penaeid shrimp

fishery based on the following criteria:

i. The BRD must reduce the bycatch

component of fishing mortality for

Spanish mackerel and weakfish by 50

percent, and

ii. The shrimp loss rate (by weight)

must be acceptable to fishermen.

The Council intends to finalize both

Amendments at its meeting in St.

Augustine, FL, from February 12-16,

1996. The public will have an

opportunity to comment at the full

Council session before the Council takes

final action to adopt the amendment’s

management measures. Once finalized,

the amendment will be submitted to

NMFS for review, approval and

implementation. NMFS will provide a

60-day public comment period on the

amendment and a 45-day public

comment period on the proposed

implementing rule during its 110-day

review period.

Special Accommodations

These hearings are physically

accessible to people with disabilities.

Requests for sign language

interpretation or other auxiliary aids

should be directed to the Council office

(see ADDRESSES) by December 27, 1995.

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

Dated: December 15, 1995.

Richard W. Surdi,

Acting Director, Office of Fisheries

Conservation and Management, National

Marine Fisheries Service.

[FR Doc. 95–30988 Filed 12–20–95; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510–22–F

50 CFR Part 655

[Docket No. 951211295–5295–01; I.D.

111595C]

RIN 0648–XX37

Atlantic Mackerel, Squid, and

Butterfish Fisheries; 1996

Specifications

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),

Commerce.

ACTION: Proposed 1996 initial

specifications; request for comments.

SUMMARY: NMFS proposes initial

specifications for the 1996 fishing year

for Atlantic mackerel, squid, and

butterfish (SMB). Regulations governing

these fisheries require NMFS to publish

specifications for the upcoming fishing

year and provide an opportunity for the

public to comment. This action is

intended to promote the development of

the U.S. SMB fisheries.

DATES: Public comments must be

received on or before January 17, 1996.

ADDRESSES: Copies of the Mid-Atlantic

Fishery Management Council’s quota

paper and recommendations are

available from David R. Keifer,

Executive Director, Mid-Atlantic

Fishery Management Council, Room

2115, Federal Building, 300 South New

Street, Dover, DE 19901.

Comments should be sent to Dr.

Andrew A. Rosenberg, Director,

Northeast Region, NMFS, 1 Blackburn

Drive, Gloucester, MA 01930. Please

mark the envelope ‘‘Comments—1996

SMB specifications.’’

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Myles Raizin, 508–281–9104.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Regulations implementing the Fishery

Management Plan for Atlantic Mackerel,

Squid, and Butterfish Fisheries (FMP)
66250 Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 245 / Thursday, December 21, 1995 / Proposed Rules

prepared by the Mid-Atlantic Fishery

Management Council (Council) appear

at 50 CFR part 655. These regulations

stipulate that NMFS publish a

document specifying the initial annual

amounts of the optimum yield (IOY),

allowable biological catch (ABC),

domestic annual harvest (DAH),

domestic annual processing (DAP), joint

venture processing (JVP), and total

allowable levels of foreign fishing

(TALFF) for the species managed under

the FMP. No reserves are permitted

under the FMP for any of these species.

Regulations implementing Amendment

4 to the FMP allow the Council to

recommend specifications for these

fisheries for up to 3 consecutive years.

Procedures for determining the initial

annual amounts are found in § 655.22.

The following table contains the

proposed initial specifications for

Atlantic mackerel, Loligo and Illex

squids, and butterfish for 1996. These

specifications are based on the

recommendations of the Council.

PRELIMINARY INITIAL ANNUAL SPECIFICATIONS FOR SMB FOR THE FISHING YEAR

[January 1 through December 31, 1996 (mt)]

Specifications

Squids Atlantic

Mackerel Butterfish

Loligo Illex

Max OY1 .......................................................................................................................... 44,000 30,000 2 N/A 16,000

ABC 3 ................................................................................................................................ 30,000 30,000 1,175,500 7,200

IOY ................................................................................................................................... 25,000 21,000 4 105,500 5,900

DAH .................................................................................................................................. 25,000 21,000 105,500 5,900

DAP .................................................................................................................................. 25,000 21,000 50,000 5,900

JVP ................................................................................................................................... 0 0 35,000 0

TALFF .............................................................................................................................. 0 0 0 0

1 Max optimum yield (OY) as stated in the FMP.

2 Not applicable, see the FMP.

3 IOY can increase to this amount.

4 Contains 20,500 mt projected recreational catch based on the formula contained in the regulations (50 CFR part 655).

Atlantic Mackerel

The FMP provides that ABC in U.S.

waters for the upcoming fishing year is

that quantity of mackerel that could be

caught in U.S. and Canadian waters

minus the estimated catch in Canadian

waters, while still maintaining a

spawning stock biomass (SSB) in the

year following the year for which catch

estimates and quotas are being prepared,

equal to or greater than 600,000 mt.

The Council recommended an ABC of

125,500 mt, derived by subtracting the

estimated Canadian catch of 24,500 mt

from the long-term potential yield of

150,000 mt, which was estimated at the

20th Northeast Regional Stock

Assessment Workshop (20th SAW)

concluded in August 1995. This

recommendation for ABC was based on

the provisions for deriving that value as

contained in Amendment 5 to the FMP.

However, NMFS has determined that

ABC should be calculated in accordance

with § 655.21 (b)(2)(i), while still using

the most recent stock assessment. It

would be premature to use the

provisions of Amendment 5 to

determine ABC for 1996 since the

amendment is still undergoing

Secretarial review and has not been

approved or implemented. The 20th

SAW concluded that productivity

appears to decline when SSB falls below

900,000 mt. Therefore, the ABC

specification for Atlantic mackerel is

proposed at 1,175,500 mt. This level of

ABC would leave an SSB of 900,000 mt

for the following year (1997) from a

mean starting value of SSB of 2,100,000

mt while also taking into account a

projected Canadian catch of 24,500 mt.

The proposed IOY for the 1996

Atlantic mackerel fishery is set at

105,500 mt, equal to the proposed DAH.

The specification for DAH is computed

by adding the estimated recreational

catch, the proposed DAP, and the

proposed JVP. The recreational

component of DAH is estimated to be

20,500 mt, using a formula found at

§ 655.21(b)(2)(ii). DAP and JVP

components of DAH have historically

been estimated using the Council’s

annual processor survey. However, for

the years 1994 and 1995, response was

low and did not contain projections

from the large, known processors. In

addition, inquiries regarding the

utilization of displaced Alaskan freezer

trawlers and New England groundfish

trawlers for possible entry into the

Atlantic mackerel fishery have led the

Council to recommend no change to the

DAP and JVP for the 1996 fishery. It is

generally agreed that joint ventures have

had a positive impact on the

development of the U.S. Atlantic

mackerel fishery and should be

encouraged.

The Council has recommended and

NMFS proposes a DAH of 105,500 mt,

which includes the 20,500 mt

recreational component. The Council

also recommended and NMFS proposes

a DAP of 50,000 mt. The difference

between DAH (minus the recreational

component) and DAP allows for a JVP

of 35,000 mt.

Zero TALFF is recommended for the

1996 Atlantic mackerel fishery by the

Council and proposed by NMFS. In

1992, the Council used testimony from

both the domestic fishing and

processing industries and analysis of

nine economic factors found at

§ 655.21(b)(2)(ii) to determine that

mackerel produced from directed

foreign fishing would compete directly

with U.S. processed products, thus

limiting markets available to U.S.

processors. The industry was nearly

unanimous in its assessment that a

specification of TALFF would impede

the growth of the U.S. fishery. The

Council sees no evidence that this

evaluation has changed. Further, the

Council believes that an expanding

mackerel market and uncertainty

regarding world supply, due to the

economic and political restructuring in

Eastern Europe, may substantially

increase opportunities for U.S.

producers to increase sales to new

markets abroad. Although the U.S.

industry has not been successful in

capturing a substantial market share for

mackerel in the Caribbean, North Africa,

and Europe so far, several factors

indicate that market expansion of

Atlantic mackerel may occur soon.

Atlantic mackerel stock abundance

remains high. Also, the continued low

abundance amounts of several

important groundfish stocks in the Gulf

of Maine, southern New England, and

on Georges Bank are causing further

restrictions in fishing effort for those

species and the need for many
Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 245 / Thursday, December 21, 1995 / Proposed Rules 66251

fishermen to redirect their effort to

underutilized species. Atlantic mackerel

is now considered a prime candidate for

innovation in harvesting, processing,

and marketing.

As a supplement to the quota paper

for the 1993 and 1994 fisheries, benefitcost and sensitivity analyses were

prepared by the Council and NMFS.

Results of the analyses indicated that in

the long term a specification of zero

TALFF will yield positive benefits to

the fishery and to the Nation. In its 1996

quota paper, the Council provides an

additional analysis of the costs and

benefits of directed foreign fishing,

which indicates that the conclusions

reached in prior analyses of zero TALFF

have not changed.

The Council also recommended and

NMFS proposes that four special

conditions imposed in previous years

continue to be imposed on the 1996

Atlantic mackerel fishery as follows: (1)

Joint ventures are allowed south of

37°30′ N. lat., but river herring bycatch

may not exceed 0.25 percent of the overthe-side transfers of Atlantic mackerel;

(2) the Regional Director, Northeast

region, NMFS, should ensure that

adverse impacts on marine mammals

are reduced in the prosecution of the

Atlantic mackerel fishery; (3) the

mackerel OY may be increased during

the year as described under

§ 655.21(b)(2)(iv) in consultation with

the Council, but the total should not

exceed 125,500 mt; and (4) applications

from a particular nation for a joint

venture for 1996 will not be approved

until the Regional Director determines,

based on an evaluation of performances,

that the Nation’s purchase obligations

for previous years have been fulfilled.

Atlantic Squids

The maximum OY (Max OY) for

Loligo is 44,000 mt. The recommended

ABC for the 1996 fishery is 30,000 mt,

representing a decrease of 6,000 mt from

the 1995 ABC of 36,000 mt. This level

of ABC is based on the most recent stock

assessments and is determined to be at

a level that will not harm the continued

growth of the resource. The 17th SAW

concluded that Loligo is an annual

species and does not have a 3-year life

span, as previously assumed. The 17th

SAW recommended that a real-time

assessment/management system be used

to ensure an adequate level of spawning

stock. This will be addressed in

Amendment 5 to the FMP, which has

been submitted to the Secretary of

Commerce for review. Amendment 5

will also address the need to lower the

Max OY, which is defined in the

regulations governing the fishery to be

44,000 mt. This specification can be

changed only with a plan amendment.

In the interim, the Council believes that

it would be prudent to reduce the ABC

for conservation purposes, as suggested

by the 17th SAW. The Council

recommended and NMFS proposes an

IOY of 25,000 mt, which is 5,000 mt less

than ABC and equal to DAH and DAP.

DAH and DAP have historically been

estimated using the Council annual

processor survey. However, for 1995,

response was low and did not contain

projections from the large, known

processors. Furthermore, the Council

believes that these stocks may be

susceptible to recruitment overfishing

due to the 1-year life span of the

animals, and in the absence of real-time

assessment/management, the Council

has chosen a conservative strategy. The

proposed IOY/DAH/DAP of 25,000 mt

for the 1996 fishery represents a

decrease of 11,000 mt from the final

1995 IOY/DAH/DAP of 36,000 mt.

The expansion of the U.S. freezer

trawler and refrigerated sea water fleets

that participate in this fishery and

substantially increased U.S. landings

indicate that there is no longer a

justification for foreign participation.

Therefore, zero JVP and TALFF are

specified for the 1996 Loligo fishery.

The Max OY for Illex squid is 30,000

mt. The Council recommended and

NMFS proposes an ABC of 30,000 mt,

which is equal to the Max OY. However,

the Council has recommended and the

Regional Director proposes that the IOY

for Illex be set at 21,000 mt, 9,000 mt

below the ABC, due to the conclusion

that Illex has a life span of only 1 year

and is, therefore, susceptible to

recruitment overfishing. Though the

17th SAW determined that Illex has a

life span of 1 year, no recommendations

to adjust Max OY ensued. The 17th

SAW recommended that, since Illex is a

transboundary stock between the United

States and Canada, a joint assessment be

conducted before a revised Max OY is

recommended. However, the 17th SAW

advised that the current MSY for Illex

may be inappropriate and cautioned

that, while the stock is under-exploited

based on current MSY, the potential for

recruitment overfishing may be

substantial. No directed foreign fishery

has been specified for Illex since 1986,

which reflects the large increases in the

capacity of the East Coast freezer trawler

fleet and projected increases in the

number of vessels using refrigerated

seawater systems capable of landing

high quality Illex. Because U.S. vessels

have the capacity to harvest the IOY, no

joint venture processing is proposed

1996 fishery.

Butterfish

The FMP sets the Max OY for

butterfish at 16,000 mt. Based on the

most current stock assessments, the

Council recommends and the Regional

Director proposes an ABC of 7,200 mt

for the 1996 fishery, representing a

decrease of 8,800 mt from the 1995 final

initial specification. Commercial

landings of butterfish have been low at

4,000 mt, 2,285 mt, 4,430 mt, and 3,537

mt for the 1991 through 1994 fisheries,

respectively. Lack of market demand

and the difficulty in locating schools of

market size fish have caused severe

reductions in the supply of butterfish.

Discard data from the offshore fishery is

lacking and high discard rates could be

reducing potential yield.

The Council recommended and

NMFS proposes an IOY for butterfish of

5,900 mt. The U.S. industry has the

potential to fully utilize this IOY. Thus,

there is no TALFF available. The

Council recommends and the Regional

Director proposes a DAH of 5,900 mt.

There has been no interest expressed in

joint ventures, thus, the IOY is proposed

at a level that does not allow for a JVP.

The Council recommended and NMFS

proposes that both JVP and TALFF be

specified at zero for the 1996 fisheries.

However, a 1,300 mt difference between

ABC and IOY is available to

accommodate an increase in IOY if

economic conditions dictate.

Classification

This action is authorized by 50 CFR

part 655, and these proposed

specifications are exempt from review

under E.O. 12866.

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

Dated: December 15, 1995.

Gary Matlock,

Program Management Officer, National

Marine Fisheries Service.

[FR Doc. 95–31119 Filed 12–18–95; 2:30 pm]

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P