[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 98 (Monday, May 20, 1996)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 25185-25186]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-12534]



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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 655

[I.D. 050296B]


Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council; Public Hearings

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

ACTION: Public hearings; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council) will 
hold five public hearings to allow for input on the resubmitted portion 
of Amendment 5 to the Fishery Management Plan for the Atlantic 
Mackerel, Squid, and Butterfish Fishery.

DATES: Written comments will be accepted through June 7, 1996. The 
hearings will be held during the months of May and June. See 
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION for the time and dates of the hearings.

ADDRESSES: Send comments to David R. Keifer, Executive Director, Mid-
Atlantic Fishery Management Council, Room 2115, Federal Building, 300 
South New

[[Page 25186]]

Street, Dover, DE 19904. The public hearings will be held in New 
Hampshire, Rhode Island, New Jersey, New York, and North Carolina. See 
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION for the locations of the hearings.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: David R. Keifer, (302) 674-2331.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Amendment 5 was partially disapproved by 
NMFS on February 9, 1996. The following management measures were 
approved by NMFS: Lowering of the Loligo maximum sustainable yield; 
eliminating the possibility of directed foreign fishing for Loligo, 
Illex, and butterfish; instituting a dealer and vessel reporting 
system; instituting an operator permitting system; and expanding of the 
management unit to include all Atlantic mackerel, Loligo, Illex, and 
butterfish under U.S. jurisdiction. NMFS disapproved three measures: 
(1) The use of long term potential catch to cap allowable biological 
catch (ABC) for Atlantic mackerel, (2) the Illex moratorium, and (3) 
the exemption from the minimum mesh requirement for the Loligo fishery 
for a vessel fishing for sea herring whose catch is comprised of 75 
percent or more of sea herring.
    In the draft proposed resubmitted portion of Amendment 5, 
overfishing for Atlantic mackerel is defined as the catch of Atlantic 
mackerel exceeding the annual ABC for the species. The fishing 
mortality rate associated with the total catch of Atlantic mackerel 
(ABC + C) shall not exceed F<INF>0.1 (as determined by the most recent 
stock assessment conducted by the Northeast Fisheries Science Center). 
ABC is the allowable biological catch in U.S. waters for the upcoming 
fishing year and C is defined as the quantity of mackerel that is 
expected to be caught in Canadian waters. In addition, a spawning stock 
size (S) of no less than 900,000 mt shall be maintained at the end of 
the fishing year for which catch estimates and quotas are being 
prepared.
    The qualification language for the Illex moratorium in the 
preferred alternative is: A vessel is eligible for a moratorium permit 
in the Illex fishery if it meets any of the following criteria: (1) The 
vessel had five landings (including at-sea joint venture transfers) of 
5,000 lb (2.27 mt) of Illex (i.e., landed five trips of at least 5,000 
lb (2.27 mt) between August 13, 1981, and August 13, 1993, (2) the 
vessel is replacing a vessel of substantially similar harvesting 
capacity that involuntarily left the Illex squid fishery during the 
moratorium, and both the entering and replaced vessels are owned by the 
same person. ``Substantially similar harvesting capacity'' means the 
same or less gross registered tonnage (GRT) and vessel registered 
length for commercial vessels, or (3) vessels that are judged 
unseaworthy by the U.S. Coast Guard for reasons other than lack of 
maintenance may be replaced by a vessel with the same GRT and vessel 
registered length for commercial vessels.
    A vessel that does not qualify for an Illex moratorium permit may 
land Illex if: (1) The vessel possesses an incidental catch permit, (2) 
the vessel fishes with a net legal in the directed fishery, (3) the 
vessel lands no more than 5,000 lb (2.27 mt) of Illex per trip, and (4) 
the operator of the vessel files the appropriate trip reports. The 
bycatch allowance may be adjusted by the Director, Northeast Region, 
NMFS, based on the recommendation of the Council.
    The public hearings will be tape recorded with the tapes filed as 
the official transcript of the hearings. The hearings will be held at 
the following locations.
    1. May 20, 1996, 6 p.m.--Holiday Inn, 300 Woodbury Avenue, 
Portsmouth, NH.
    2. May 21, 1996, 4 p.m.--Holiday Inn at the Crossings, 800 
Greenwich Avenue, Warwick, RI.
    3. May 30, 1996, 6:30 p.m.--Cape May extension Office, Dennisville 
Road, Cape May, NJ.
    4. June 3, 1996, 7:30 p.m.--Ramada Inn, Exit 72 L.I.E. & Route 25, 
Riverhead, NY.
    5. June 3, 1996, 7 p.m.--North Carolina State Aquarium, Airport 
Road, Manteo, NC.
    These hearings are physically accessible to people with 
disabilities. Requests for sign language interpretation or other 
auxiliary aids should be directed to David R. Keifer (see ADDRESSES) at 
least 5 days prior to the hearing dates.

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

    Dated: May 14, 1996.
Richard H. Schaefer,
Director, Office of Fisheries Conservation and Management, National 
Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 96-12534 Filed 5-17-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-F