Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 29 / Monday, February 12, 2001 / Proposed Rules 9813

References

A complete list of all cited references

is available upon request (see

ADDRESSES).

Classification

National Environmental Policy Act

The 1982 amendments to the ESA, in

section 4(b)(1)(A), restrict the

information that may be considered

when assessing species for listing. Based

on this limitation of criteria for a listing

decision and the opinion in Pacific

Legal Foundation v. Andrus, 675 F. 2d

825 (6th Cir. 1981), NMFS has

concluded that ESA listing actions are

not subject to the environmental

assessment requirements of the National

Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). See

NOAA Administrative Order 216–6.

Executive Order 12866 and Regulatory

Flexibility Act

As noted in the Conference Report on

the 1982 amendments to the ESA,

economic impacts cannot be considered

when assessing the status of species.

Therefore, the economic analysis

requirements of the Regulatory

Flexibility Act (RFA) are not applicable

to the listing process. In addition, this

proposed rule is exempt from review

under Executive Order 12866.

Executive Order 13132–Federalism

In keeping with the intent of the

Administration and Congress to provide

continuing and meaningful dialogue on

issues of mutual state and Federal

interest, NMFS has conferred with state

and local government agencies in the

course of assessing the status of the

KMP steelhead ESU and considered,

among other things, state and local

conservation measures. State and local

governments have expressed support for

the conservation of KMP steelhead and

made efforts to reduce risks faced by the

ESU. The history and content of this

dialogue, as well as the basis for this

proposed action, are described in the

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of

this document and in other Federal

Register documents preceding this

proposed action. (See 61 FR 41541,

August 9, 1996; 62 FR 43974, August 18,

1997; and 63 FR 13347, March 19,

1998). NMFS’ staff have had numerous

discussions with various governmental

agency representatives regarding the

status of this ESU and have sought

working relationships with agencies and

others in order to promote salmonid

restoration efforts. In addition, NMFS’

staff have given presentations to

interagency forums and other interested

groups considering conservation

measures. As the process continues,

NMFS intends to continue engaging in

informal and formal contacts with

affected state, local, or regional entities,

giving careful consideration to all

written or oral comments received. As

one part of that continued process,

NMFS has scheduled public hearings on

this proposed action. NMFS also

intends to consult with appropriate

elected officials in consideration of a

final rule.

Executive Order 13175–Consultation

and Coordination With Indian Tribal

Governments

NMFS has consulted with affected

tribes throughout the course of the West

Coast steelhead status review. These

consultations have included numerous

presentations and discussions with

tribal officials and representatives, in

particular, the Klamath River Basin

tribes, regarding the status of the KMP

steelhead and conservation efforts

directed at this ESU. NMFS will

continue to actively engage the affected

tribes and will seek their assistance and

expertise to complete the agency’s KMP

steelhead status review. Moreover, the

agency will carry out its responsibilities

under the Act in a manner that

recognizes tribal sovereignty and

harmonizes the agency’s statutory

missions with Federal trust

responsibilities to tribes and that strives

to ensure that Indian tribes do not bear

a disproportionate burden for the

conservation of listed species. In

keeping with E.O. 13175, NMFS will

summarize the history of consultations

with affected tribes and describe the

manner in which tribal concerns were

addressed at the time of the final listing

determination for KMP steelhead.

List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 223

Endangered and threatened species,

Exports, Imports, Marine mammals,

Transportation.

Dated: February 7, 2001.

William T. Hogarth,

Acting Assistant Administrator for Fisheries,

National Marine Fisheries Service.

For the reasons set forth in the

preamble, 50 CFR part 223 is proposed

to be amended as follows:

PART 223—THREATENED MARINE

AND ANADROMOUS SPECIES

1. The authority citation for part 223

continues to read as follows:

Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.; 16 U.S.C.

742a et seq.; 31 U.S.C. 9701.

2. In § 223.102, paragraph (a)(23) is

added to read as follows:

§ 223.102 Enumeration of threatened

species.

* * * * *

(a) * * *

(23) Klamath Mountains Province

steelhead (Oncorhynchus mykiss).

Includes all naturally spawned

populations of steelhead (and their

progeny) in coastal river basins ranging

from the Elk River in Curry County,

Oregon, to the Klamath River, inclusive,

in Del Norte County, California.

* * * * *

[FR Doc. 01–3545 Filed 2–9–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510–22–S

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration

50 CFR Part 622

[I.D. 013001A]

Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of

Mexico, and South Atlantic; SnapperGrouper Fishery of the South Atlantic;

Public Hearings

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration,

Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of public hearing; request

for comments.

SUMMARY: The South Atlantic Fishery

Management Council (Council) will

hold a public hearing to address issues

regarding the use of powerhead gear (or

‘‘bangsticks’’) by recreational and

commercial divers fishing in the

Exclusive Economic Zone off the east

coast of Florida, within the Council’s

area of jurisdiction, for reef fish species

in the management unit of the Fishery

Management Plan for the SnapperGrouper Fishery of the South Atlantic

Region (FMP).

DATES: Written comments will be

accepted until 12 noon, February 26,

2001. For the specific date and time of

the hearing see SUPPLEMENTARY

INFORMATION.

ADDRESSES: Written comments should

be sent to Bob Mahood, Executive

Director, South Atlantic Fishery

Management Council, One Southpark

Circle, Suite 306, Charleston, SC 29407-

4699; telephone: (843) 571-4366; FAX

(843) 769-4520; email address:

safmc@noaa.gov. Copies of the Options

Paper addressing powerhead gear issues

are available from the Council at the

same address. The meeting will be held

in Atlantic Beach, FL.

9814 Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 29 / Monday, February 12, 2001 / Proposed Rules

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kim

Iverson, Public Information Officer,

South Atlantic Fishery Management

Council, telephone: 843-571-4366; fax:

843-769-4520; email address:

kim.iverson@noaa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The

public hearing will be convened to

obtain the views of fishery participants

and the general public regarding

specific issues about the use of

powerhead gear to target reef fish

species in the FMP’s management unit.

The issues to be addressed include the

following: Conflicts/competition

between user groups; harvest of

lethargic fish during the winter months;

harvest of aggregations of spawning fish;

excessive harvesting by divers; and, the

illegal sale of fish. The Council intends

that proposed regulatory actions to

address these issues would be through

a regulatory amendment under the

FMP’s framework procedure for

regulatory adjustments.

Date, Time, and Location for Public

Hearing

The public hearing will be held on

Tuesday, February 20, 2001, beginning

at 6 p.m., and will be held at the Sea

Turtle Inn, One Ocean Boulevard,

Atlantic Beach, FL 32233; telephone:

(904) 249-7402; FAX (904) 247-1517.

Special Accommodations

This meeting is physically accessible

to people with disabilities. Requests for

sign language interpretation or other

auxiliary aids should be directed to the

Council (see ADDRESSES) by February

12, 2001.

Dated: February 6, 2001

Bruce C. Morehead,

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service.

[FR Doc. 01–3548 Filed 2–9–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE: 3510–22–S

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration

50 CFR Part 648

[I.D. 011101A]

RIN 0648-AF87

Fisheries of the Northeastern United

States; Tilefish Fishery Management

Plan

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),

Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of availability of a fishery

management plan; request for

comments.

SUMMARY: NMFS announces that the

Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management

Council (Council) has submitted the

Tilefish Fishery Management Plan

(FMP) for Secretarial review and is

requesting comments from the public.

The FMP would initiate Federal

management of golden tilefish

(Lopholatilus chamaeleonticeps)

(tilefish) under the Magnuson-Stevens

Fishery Conservation and Management

Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act). The

overall goal of the FMP is to rebuild

tilefish so that the optimum yield can be

obtained from this resource.

DATES: Comments must be received not

later than 5 p.m., Eastern Standard

Time, on April 13, 2001.

ADDRESSES: Comments on the FMP

should be sent to Patricia A. Kurkul,

Regional Administrator, 1 Blackburn

Drive, Gloucester, MA 01930–2298.

Mark the outside of the envelope,

‘‘Comments on Tilefish FMP.’’

Comments may also be sent via

facsimile (fax) to (978) 281–9135.

Comments will not be accepted if

submitted via e-mail or the Internet.

Copies of the FMP, its regulatory

impact review, initial regulatory

flexibility analysis, final environmental

impact statement, and supporting

documents are available from Daniel T.

Furlong, Executive Director, MidAtlantic Fishery Management Council,

Room 2115, Federal Building, Dover, DE

19904–6790.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Myles Raizin, Fishery Policy Analyst,

(978) 281–9104, e-mail at

M.A.Raizin@noaa.gov, fax at (978) 281–

9135.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: FMPs and

amendments must meet the

requirements of the Magnuson-Stevens

Act as well as a number of other Federal

laws and regulations. The FMP has been

developed to meet all Federal

requirements and contains all the

required elements of an FMP. In

particular, the FMP addresses the

Magnuson-Stevens Act requirement that

an FMP be developed for overfished

species and that targets and thresholds

for stock size and fishing mortality be

established.

A recent NMFS stock assessment

indicates that the tilefish stock north of

North Carolina is at a low biomass level

and is overexploited. Total tilefish

biomass in 1998 was estimated to be 6.8

million lb (3.1 million kg), which is

about 35 percent of the biomass (B) that

would produce maximum sustainable

yield (MSY) or BMSY. Biomass-based

fishing mortality (F) was estimated to be

0.45, which is about double the F at

MSY (FMSY) of 0.22. Total landings in

1998 were 2.7 million lb (1.2 million kg)

and significantly below the estimated

MSY of 4.2 million lb (1.9 million kg).

Current fishing mortality rates are

unsustainable, as indicated by a shift in

the exploitation pattern towards smaller

fish.

The management unit for the FMP is

defined as all golden tilefish under

United States jurisdiction in the

Atlantic Ocean north of the Virginia/

North Carolina border. Tilefish south of

the Virginia/North Carolina border are

currently managed as part of the Fishery

Management Plan for the SnapperGrouper Fishery prepared by the South

Atlantic Fishery Management Council.

The fishing year for tilefish would be

the 12-month period beginning with the

implementation date of the FMP.

To meet the overall goal of the FMP,

the Council adopted the following

objectives: (1) Prevent overfishing and

rebuild the resource to the biomass that

would support MSY; (2) prevent

overcapitalization and limit new

entrants; (3) identify and describe

essential fish habitat; and (4) collect

necessary data to develop, monitor, and

assess biological, economic, and social

impacts of management measures

designed to prevent overfishing and to

reduce bycatch in all fisheries.

The FMP would establish: (1) An

overfishing definition; (2) a 10-year

rebuilding schedule; (3) permit and

reporting requirements for commercial

vessels, operators, and dealers; (4) an

FMP Monitoring Committee; (5) a

framework adjustment process; (6) a

commercial quota to be divided into

full-time, part-time, and incidental

categories; (7) a trip limit for the

incidental category (non-longline); (8) a

limited entry scheme for the full-time

and part-time quota categories; and (9)

an identification and description of

essential fish habitat (EFH) for tilefish.

Overfishing Definition

The Magnuson-Stevens Act requires

each fishery management plan to

specify objective and measurable status

determination criteria for identifying

when stocks or stock complexes are

overfished. Status determination criteria

for tilefish would specify a maximum

fishing mortality rate (F) threshold and

minimum stock size threshold. The

maximum F threshold would be

specified as FMSY, and the minimum

biomass threshold would be specified as

c BMSY. Guidelines for the MagnusonStevens Act National Standards suggest

that a risk-averse fishing mortality rate