[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 120 (Thursday, June 20, 1996)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 31499-31501]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-15679]



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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
50 CFR Part 652

[Docket No. 960531155-6155-01; I.D. 050996B]


Atlantic Surf Clam and Ocean Quahog Fishery; Control Date

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

ACTION: Advance notice of proposed rulemaking; consideration of a 
control date.

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SUMMARY: NMFS announces that the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management 
Council (Council) is considering limiting future access to anyone 
entering that portion of the ocean quahog (Arctica islandica) fishery, 
commonly referred to as the Maine mahogany quahog fishery, that is 
managed through the Maine Mahogany Quahog Experimental Fishery Program 
after June 20, 1996 (control date). Future access to the Maine mahogany 
quahog resource in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) will not be 
assured beyond the control date if a management regime is developed and 
implemented under the Magnuson Fishery Conservation and Management Act 
(Magnuson Act) that limits the number of participants in the fishery. 
This document is intended to promote awareness of potential eligibility 
criteria for future access to that portion of the ocean quahog fishery 
managed through the Maine Mahogany Quahog Experimental Fishery Program 
and to discourage new entries into this fishery based on economic 
speculation while the Council contemplates whether and how access 
should be controlled. The potential eligibility criteria may be based 
on historical participation, defined as any number of trips having any 
documented amount of ocean quahog landings. This document, therefore, 
gives the public notice that they should locate and preserve records

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that substantiate and verify their participation in that portion of the 
Maine mahogany quahog fishery in Federal waters managed through the 
Maine Mahogany Quahog Experimental Fishery Program.

DATES: Comments must be submitted by July 19, 1996.

ADDRESSES: Comments should be directed to: David R. Keifer, Executive 
Director, Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council, 300 South New 
Street, Dover DE 19904.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Myles Raizin, Fishery Policy Analyst, 
508-281-9104.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    The surf clam and ocean quahog resources were the first resources 
placed under Federal management after the Magnuson Act was implemented. 
Surf clams and ocean quahogs are currently managed by the individual 
transferrable quota (ITQ) system that was implemented by Amendment 8 to 
the Fishery Management Plan for the Atlantic Surf Clam and Ocean Quahog 
Fisheries (FMP), that was effective September 30, 1990. Amendment 8 
replaced an elaborate and costly effort control system with one which 
limited only the outputs, or landings of the two species, and gave 
harvesters the flexibility to utilize their landing allocation in 
whatever manner best suited their individual needs and situations.
    NMFS assigned landing allocations to historic industry 
participants, which could be harvested, leased, or sold to other 
individuals at the allocation holder's discretion. The major factor 
employed in assigning those allocations was past participation in the 
fisheries. Documentation of past participation was provided by 
fishermen themselves, using logbook forms supplied by the government. 
Mandatory landings reports have been a requirement for any vessel 
harvesting surf clams or ocean quahogs in the EEZ since 1978.
    Ocean quahogs are distributed in U.S. waters from the Canadian 
border to Cape Hatteras. South of Cape Cod, the species occurs 
primarily in EEZ waters, although some fishable concentrations occur in 
Rhode Island Sound, and in coastal waters off Massachusetts. In the 
Gulf of Maine, ocean quahogs occur both in state and EEZ waters. Two 
significant and separate fisheries currently exist for ocean quahogs, 
in the Middle Atlantic Bight, from Martha's Vineyard to the Delmarva 
Peninsula, and in waters off eastern Maine.
    In general, over 99 percent of the ocean quahog landings in weight 
come from the mid-Atlantic fishery. Effort and catch per unit of effort 
in the Maine fishery are also substantially less than that in the mid-
Atlantic. The Maine fishery occurs in a relatively restricted area 
centered off Mt. Desert Island. Ocean quahog catches from the coast of 
Maine are restricted to a narrow band inshore of the 50 fathom line.
    In 1990, a problem was discovered relative to the fishery for ocean 
quahogs off of Maine. While previously this small-scale fishery had 
occurred primarily within Maine state waters, area closures were 
required due to the presence of paralytic shellfish poisoning toxin. 
These closures forced vessels to fish further offshore in the EEZ 
starting in 1987.
    It was not until one of the participants in the Maine ocean quahog 
fishery was issued a violation notice by the U.S. Coast Guard that 
Maine participants came to understand the Federal management measures 
governing the quahog fishery. Some of the participants in this fishery 
had mistakenly believed that the animal that was locally called a 
``mahogany clam'' was a different species than the ocean quahog under 
Federal management.
    Although the mahogany quahog fishery that occurs off Maine uses the 
same species as the ocean quahog off the mid-Atlantic, the Maine 
mahogany quahog is a distinct biological group of animals. For 
instance, Maine mahogany quahogs have a much slower growth rate than 
ocean quahogs off the mid-Atlantic.
    To address the issue of a distinct biological group of ocean 
quahogs off the coast of Maine, the Director, Northeast Region, NMFS, 
initiated an experimental fishery for mahogany quahogs off of downeast 
Maine. The participants in this fishery are required to obtain and 
carry on board their vessels a certificate issued by NMFS. Several 
conditions are placed on the experimental fishery, including an area 
restriction that prohibits vessels from fishing south of 43 deg.50' N. 
latitude (changed from 43 deg.00' N. latitude in 1992), vessel and 
dealer reporting requirements, an obligation to take observers aboard 
if required by NMFS, and a requirement for vessels to sell only to 
federally permitted dealers.
    Significant differences exist between the Maine and mid-Atlantic 
fisheries. The markets into which each type of ocean quahog are sold 
also differ. The major ocean quahog fishery from the mid-Atlantic has 
typically been a larger scale industrial enterprise, conducted by large 
vessels operating in deep, offshore waters. Ocean quahogs are dislodged 
from the seabed using large, hydraulic dredges that shoot jets of water 
from their leading edge. Once on board, ocean quahogs are stored in 
metal cages capable of holding 32 bu each. At the dock, cranes lift the 
cages into tractor trailers for shipment to processing plants where 
they are steamed open, thoroughly washed, and processed into a variety 
of product forms primarily for clam chowder. Reported prices have been 
relatively constant over time and have ranged from $3.00 to $4.70 per 
bu in 1995.
    The small-scale Maine mahogany quahog fishery utilizes small, dry 
dredges on small boats typically ranging between 35 (11 m) and 45 ft 
(14 m) in length. The quahogs targeted by these vessels are smaller 
than in the industrial fishery, averaging between 1.5 (38 mm) and 2.5 
inches (63 mm), and are destined for the fresh, half-shell market. The 
average exvessel price in 1995 was $34 per bu but prices have been as 
high as $45 per bu in 1991.
    Significant landings (124,000 bu) of quahogs in Maine were first 
recorded in 1986. For the next eight years, reported landings were on a 
declining trend, falling to a low of 22,000 bu in 1994. The number of 
vessels reporting landings in the Federal experimental fishery declined 
from 45 boats in 1991 to 30 in 1994.
    The 1995 data have not yet been finalized, however, the State of 
Maine has records of landings increasing sharply to approximately 
40,000 bu, due to the discovery of an extensive new bed. Indications 
from officials in Maine are that this new resource site straddles the 
boundary between the EEZ and state waters.
    NMFS collected nonrandom samples from the coast of Maine with the 
1992 and 1994 research surveys in order to map the distribution of 
ocean quahogs and to examine the population size frequency 
distributions. Within the 50-fathom range, ocean quahogs appear to be 
restricted to a patch centered between 67 deg. and 68 deg. W. 
longitude. Tows were taken to the east and west of the patch to attempt 
to define the limits. The location of the patch, as defined by survey 
data, agrees well with the location of recent landings. Maine is the 
only area with any evidence of substantial recruitment of small quahogs 
or of growth by medium-sized ocean quahogs in any region.
    The 1994 stock assessment states that given the problems with the 
1994 survey, it would be inappropriate to use the two surveys from 
Maine to make inferences about changes in population size, because 
those samples were taken

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from nonrandom locations. In the Maine area, the population consists of 
two length modes. The larger group is centered between 50-54 mm (25 mm 
= 1 inch) shell length. Most clams in the smaller group measured 20-29 
mm in July 1992, and 30-39 mm in August 1994. Work is currently in 
progress to section these shells and estimate age and growth. The 50-54 
mm long clams are estimated to be 35 to 43 years of age. The smaller 
group, 30-39 mm long, are estimated to be 15 to 20 years of age.
    The Council intends to address whether and how to limit entry of 
commercial vessels into this fishery in Amendment 10 to the FMP. The 
Council's intent in making this announcement is to discourage 
speculative entry into the Maine mahogany quahog fishery while 
potential management regimes to control access into the fishery are 
discussed and possibly developed by the Council. The control date will 
help to distinguish bona fide established fishermen from speculative 
entrants to the fishery. Fishermen are notified that entering the 
fishery after the control date will not assure them of future access to 
the ocean quahog resource on the grounds of previous participation. 
Furthermore, additional and/or other qualifying criteria also may be 
applied. The Council may choose different and variably weighted methods 
to qualify fishermen, based on the type and length of participation in 
the fishery or on the quantity of landings. The Council may also decide 
not to limit entry into this fishery after a consideration of all 
reasonable alternatives for its management.

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

    Dated: June 13, 1996.
Gary Matlock,
Program Management Officer, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 96-15679 Filed 6-19-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-F