[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 89 (Tuesday, May 7, 1996)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 20506-20507]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-11271]



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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 625

[I.D. 042696A]


Summer Flounder and Scup Fishery; Notice of Availability of 
Amendment 8

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of availability of an amendment to a fishery management 
plan and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: NMFS issues this document to advise that the Mid-Atlantic 
Fishery Management Council (Council) has submitted Amendment 8 to the 
Fishery Management Plan for the Summer Flounder and Scup Fisheries 
(FMP) for Secretarial review and is requesting comments from the 
public. Amendment 8 would initiate management measures for the scup 
fishery.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before June 24, 1996.

ADDRESSES: Send comments to Dr. Andrew A. Rosenberg, Regional Director, 
National Marine Fisheries Service, Northeast Regional Office, One 
Blackburn Drive, Gloucester, MA 01930-3799. Mark the outside of the 
envelope ``Comments on Summer Flounder and Scup Plan.''
    Copies of proposed Amendment 8, its Regulatory Impact Review (RIR) 
and the Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis contained within the 
RIR, and the Final Environmental Impact Statement are available from 
David R. Keifer, Executive Director, Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management 
Council, Room 2115 Federal Building, 300 S. New Street, Dover, DE 
19904-6790.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Regina L. Spallone, Fishery Policy 
Analyst, 508-281-9221.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Magnuson Fishery Conservation and 
Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.) (Magnuson Act) requires that 
each regional fishery management council submit any fishery management 
plan or amendment it prepares to NMFS for review. The Magnuson Act also 
requires that NMFS, upon receiving the plan or amendment for review, 
immediately make a preliminary evaluation of whether the amendment is 
sufficient to warrant continued review, and publish a document that the 
plan or amendment is available for public review and comment. NMFS will 
consider the public comments received during the comment period in 
determining whether to approve the plan or amendment.
    Amendment 8, if approved, would revise the Summer Flounder FMP to 
institute management measures that would allow the scup (Stenotomus 
chrysops) resource to rebuild over a 7-year period. Scup are currently 
overexploited and at a low biomass level.
    Proposed management measures for scup in Year 1 of management 
include: Dealer, charter/party (c/p) vessel, and operator permits; 
moratorium vessel permits for the directed commercial fishery; a 
requirement that permitted vessels may sell only to permitted dealers; 
mandatory reporting for permitted vessels and dealers; escape vents on 
scup pots or traps; degradable hinges and fasteners in scup pots or 
traps; and maximum size for rollers used in roller rig trawl gear; 
minimum fish sizes for the commercial and recreational fisheries; and 
minimum codend mesh requirements when possessing more than a threshold 
level of scup on board. In Year 2 and beyond, a coastwide quota would 
also be implemented with Federal commercial permit holders being 
prohibited from landing after the quota had been attained, as well as a 
framework to allow time/area closures in order to reduce bycatch and 
prevent quota overruns. The proposed amendment also includes a 
framework measure to allow future adjustments to minimum fish sizes, 
mesh size, and the threshold level of fish on board that triggers the 
mesh size, and to implement a recreational possession limit and season.
    NMFS disapproved six measures in Amendment 8 before publishing this 
notice of availability as authorized under section 304(a)(1)(A) of the 
Magnuson Act. These disapproved measures would: (1) Confer moratorium 
permit eligibility upon vessels that were re-rigging on January 26, 
1993, and land scup prior to the implementation of the FMP; (2) require 
vessels to keep scup catches of less than 4,000 lb (1,814 kg) (the 
level at which the minimum mesh requirement is triggered) in 100-lb 
boxes to enhance enforcement; (3) accept state dealer permits in lieu 
of the required Federal permit; (4) deny access to the exclusive 
economic zone to vessels from states that do not implement recreational 
measures equivalent to those specified in the Federal plan; (5) use 
state regulations to define scup pots for the residents of that state; 
and (6) establish annual recreational harvest limits and deduct catches 
in excess of those limits from the limits for the following year.
    Day 1 for this amendment is April 26, 1996. Proposed regulations to 
implement this amendment are scheduled to be published within 15 days 
of this date.

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


[[Page 20507]]


    Dated: May 1, 1996.
Richard W. Surdi,
Acting Director, Office of Fisheries Conservation and Management, 
National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 96-11271 Filed 5-2-96; 11:10 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-F