Opinion ID: 212487
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The New England Fishery Management Council and the Scallop Fishery

Text: The development of the Atlantic Sea Scallop FMP is the responsibility of the New England Fishery Management Council (NEFMC). All parties agree that the NEFMC is not an agency within the meaning of the APA. In 1994, the limited access scallop FMP then in place was amended (Amendment 4) to provide for an open access fishery to allow a flexible program for seasonal or opportunistic fisheries targeting inshore scallops. Both limited access and open access general category scalloping permits authorized the harvest of up to 400 pounds of Atlantic sea scallops daily. Only large-scale scallop boats, however, were eligible for the limited access permits. Small-scale scallop fishing vessels and vessels that harvested scallops as an incidental bycatch were issued general category permits. The Appellants are small-scale general category scallop fishermen. After the passage of Amendment 4, the number of general category permit holders exploded, fueling concerns about overfishing. [6] These concerns prompted the NEFMC to consider regulatory responses to limit the number of participants in the general category scallop fishery. On August 31, 2004, the NEFMC published a Notice of a Public Meeting in the Federal Register announcing a three-day meeting to be held from September 14-16, 2004, in Fairhaven, Massachusetts, to consider actions affecting New England fisheries in the exclusive economic zone. According to the meeting agenda, among the issues that [might] be discussed were actions to address overfishing and actions to cap or reduce general category scallop landings and/or improve reporting measures. During the meeting, NEFMC Vice-Chairman Thomas Hill announced his intention to propose a motion to establish a control date effective [upon] publication of the Federal Register ... that would freeze the number of permits in the fishery. [7] One of the participants (Maggie Raymond of the Associated Fisheries of Maine) objected that the subject of a control date was not posted on the agenda [and so] this would be the only opportunity for the public to speak to that. Hill replied that the NEFMC never notifie[s] the public in advance, because it defeats the purpose of the control date if you notify in advance. Hill's motion to publish notice of a control date for the general category permit scallop fishery was adopted by a 13-1 vote, with two abstentions. NMFS published the notice in the Federal Register on November 1, 2004. In relevant part, the Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPR) sought public comment on: proposed rulemaking to control future access to the open access vessel permit category (general category) Atlantic sea scallop fishery if a management regime is developed and implemented under [the Magnuson-Stevens Act] to limit the number of participants in this sector of the scallop fishery. ... This announcement is intended, in part, to promote awareness of potential eligibility criteria for future access so as to discourage speculative entry into the fishery while the [NEFMC] considers whether and how access to the general category sea scallop fishery could be controlled. The date of publication of this notice, November 1, 2004, shall be known as the control date and may be used for establishing eligibility criteria for determining levels of future access to the sea scallop fishery subject to Federal authority. 69 Fed.Reg. 63341.