Proposed Rule2024-02509
Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and South Atlantic; Atlantic Coastal Migratory Pelagic Fishery; Atlantic Dolphin and Wahoo Fishery; and South Atlantic Snapper-Grouper Fishery; Control Date
Primary source
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Published
February 8, 2024
Issuing agencies
Commerce DepartmentNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Abstract
This advance notice of proposed rulemaking seeks comment on the benefits or disadvantages of the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council) potentially setting future restrictions, resulting in subsequent rulemakings from NMFS, in the Atlantic the coastal migratory pelagics fishery and the dolphin and wahoo fishery, and the snapper- grouper fishery in the South Atlantic. The Council recently set a control date of December 8, 2023. That control date, and an existing control date of June 15, 2016, may both be used to create restrictions limiting participation in the exclusive economic zone for the Federal charter vessel/headboat (for-hire) components of the recreational sectors of the coastal migratory pelagics fishery in the Atlantic, dolphin and wahoo fishery in the Atlantic, and snapper-grouper fishery in the South Atlantic. The Council is considering a future action that may affect or limit the number of participants in the fishery, and stresses that participants should locate and preserve all relevant, fishing-related documents. If such an action is developed, approved, and implemented through a Council decision and a subsequent rulemaking by NMFS, future access to the fishery after the control date would not be assured. NMFS is informing the public of the new control date, in part, to promote awareness of the potential changes to eligibility criteria for future access so as to discourage speculative entry into the Federal for-hire components of the Atlantic coastal migratory pelagics, Atlantic dolphin and wahoo, or the South Atlantic snapper- grouper fisheries, while the Council and NMFS consider whether and how access to these for-hire components should be managed.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 89 Issue 27 (Thursday, February 8, 2024)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 27 (Thursday, February 8, 2024)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 8639-8640]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2024-02509]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 622
[Docket No. 240202-0034]
RIN 0648-BM80
Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and South Atlantic;
Atlantic Coastal Migratory Pelagic Fishery; Atlantic Dolphin and Wahoo
Fishery; and South Atlantic Snapper-Grouper Fishery; Control Date
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Advanced notice of proposed rulemaking; request for comments.
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SUMMARY: This advance notice of proposed rulemaking seeks comment on
the benefits or disadvantages of the South Atlantic Fishery Management
Council (Council) potentially setting future restrictions, resulting in
subsequent rulemakings from NMFS, in the Atlantic the coastal migratory
pelagics fishery and the dolphin and wahoo fishery, and the snapper-
grouper fishery in the South Atlantic. The Council recently set a
control date of December 8, 2023. That control date, and an existing
control date of June 15, 2016, may both be used to create restrictions
limiting participation in the exclusive economic zone for the Federal
charter vessel/headboat (for-hire) components of the recreational
sectors of the coastal migratory pelagics fishery in the Atlantic,
dolphin and wahoo fishery in the Atlantic, and snapper-grouper fishery
in the South Atlantic. The Council is considering a future action that
may affect or limit the number of participants in the fishery, and
stresses that participants should locate and preserve all relevant,
fishing-related documents. If such an action is developed, approved,
and implemented through a Council decision and a subsequent rulemaking
by NMFS, future access to the fishery after the control date would not
be assured. NMFS is informing the public of the new control date, in
part, to promote awareness of the potential changes to eligibility
criteria for future access so as to discourage speculative entry into
the Federal for-hire components of the Atlantic coastal migratory
pelagics, Atlantic dolphin and wahoo, or the South Atlantic snapper-
grouper fisheries, while the Council and NMFS consider whether and how
access to these for-hire components should be managed.
DATES: Written comments must be received no later than March 11, 2024.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments identified by ``NOAA-NMFS-2023-
0157'' by either of the following methods:
<bullet> Electronic Submission: Submit all electronic public
comments via the Federal e-Rulemaking Portal. Go to <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a> and type ``NOAA-NMFS-2023-0157'' in the Search box
(note: copying and pasting the FDMS Docket Number directly from this
document may not yield search results). Click on the ``Comment'' icon,
complete the required fields, and enter or attach your comments.
<bullet> Mail: Submit written comments to Nikhil Mehta, NMFS
Southeast Regional Office, 263 13th Avenue South, St. Petersburg, FL
33701.
Instructions: Comments sent by any other method, to any other
address or individual, or received after the end of the comment period,
may not be considered by NMFS. All comments received are a part of the
public record and will generally be posted for public viewing on
<a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a> without change. All personal identifying
information (e.g., name, address, etc.), confidential business
information, or otherwise sensitive information submitted voluntarily
by the sender will be publicly accessible. NMFS will accept anonymous
comments (enter ``N/A'' in the required fields if you wish to remain
anonymous).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Nikhil Mehta, telephone: 727-824-5305,
or email: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#5b35323033323775363e332f3a1b35343a3a753c342d"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="fe909795969792d0939b968a9fbe90919f9fd0999188">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The coastal migratory pelagics fishery in
the Atlantic is managed under the Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for
Coastal Migratory Pelagic Resources (CMP FMP). The dolphin and wahoo
fishery in the Atlantic is managed under the FMP for the Dolphin and
Wahoo Fishery of the Atlantic (Dolphin and Wahoo FMP). The snapper-
grouper fishery in the South Atlantic is managed under the FMP for the
Snapper-Grouper Fishery of the South Atlantic Region (Snapper-Grouper
FMP). The CMP FMP was prepared jointly by the Gulf of Mexico and South
Atlantic Fishery Management Councils. The Dolphin and Wahoo and
Snapper-Grouper FMPs were prepared by the Council. Under the authority
of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act
(Magnuson-Stevens Act), NMFS approved the FMPs and implements them
through regulations at 50 CFR part 622.
The purpose of a control date is to enable the Council to inform
current and potential participants that it is considering whether to
create restrictions that limit participation in a fishery. NMFS
previously published a control date of June 15, 2016, for the coastal
migratory pelagics, dolphin and wahoo, and snapper-grouper for-hire
components of the recreational sector on September 27, 2016 (81 FR
66244). At its December 2023 meeting, the Council again discussed
access options for these fisheries and requested that NMFS publish
another control date of December 8, 2023, for the Federal for-hire
component of the recreational sectors of the Atlantic coastal migratory
pelagics, Atlantic dolphin and wahoo, and South Atlantic snapper-
grouper fisheries as a possible future eligibility criteria for these
fisheries. The Federal charter vessel/headboat permits for these for-
hire components are currently open access, available to be applied for
by anyone with a valid vessel registration. The new control date of
December 8, 2023, and the existing control date of June 15, 2016, could
both be considered as possible options for use by the Council to
determine future access to these fisheries. The purpose of these
control dates is to inform current and potential participants that the
Council is considering whether to propose future restrictions that
limit fishery participation in the for-hire components of these
fisheries. Should the Council decide to implement further restrictions
on the fishery, those restrictions would be codified into the
regulations through a NMFS rulemaking.
As a condition of the for-hire, December 8, 2023, control date, the
Council specified at their December 2023 meeting that Federal permit
holders that had not reported catch from the for-hire components of
these fisheries to the Southeast For-Hire Integrated Electronic
Reporting (SEFHIER) program in the Atlantic on, or prior to, December
5, 2023, would not be assured of future access should a management
regime that limits participation in the for-hire components of these
fisheries be prepared and implemented. The Atlantic SEFHIER program was
implemented on January 4, 2021 (85 FR 47917, August 7, 2020). That
final rule established weekly electronic reporting requirements for
owners or operators of federally permitted coastal migratory pelagics,
dolphin and wahoo, and snapper-
[[Page 8640]]
grouper charter vessels and changed the electronic reporting deadline
for owners and operators of federally permitted headboats. The purpose
of that final rule and the Atlantic SEFHIER program was to improve
recreational fisheries management of the for-hire components in the
Atlantic. NMFS notes that as of October 2023, 54 percent of vessels in
the Atlantic SEFHIER program were missing required reports since the
implementation of the program (<a href="https://safmc.net/documents/fc1_a2_sefhier-program-analysis_202312-revised-pdf/">https://safmc.net/documents/fc1_a2_sefhier-program-analysis_202312-revised-pdf/</a>). The Council chose
Tuesday, December 5, 2023, because Atlantic SEFHIER participants are
required to report their catch weekly on Tuesdays and in order to avoid
a possible influx of late reports occurring prior to December 8, 2023,
by permit holders in reaction to the announcement of the control date.
Late reporting by SEFHIER participants can negatively impact reliable
and timely catch and effort data, decrease accuracy of reports, and
increase recall bias of participants.
In addition to selecting a control date, at their December 2023
meeting, the Council also approved a motion to initiate an amendment to
the CMP FMP, the dolphin and wahoo FMP, and the snapper-grouper FMP to
consider establishing limited entry for the for-hire components of the
recreational sectors of Atlantic coastal migratory pelagics, Atlantic
dolphin and wahoo, and South Atlantic snapper-grouper fisheries.
NMFS is therefore, informing current and potential fishery
participants in the Federal for-hire components of the recreational
sectors for Atlantic coastal migratory pelagics, Atlantic dolphin and
wahoo, and South Atlantic snapper-grouper fisheries that began
participating after December 8, 2023, that they may not be ensured
participation under future management of these fisheries, should the
Council elect to implement, and NMFS subsequently codify, further
restrictions. Additionally, Federal permit holders that have not
reported catch from these fisheries to the Atlantic SEFHIER Program on,
or prior to, December 5, 2023, will not be assured of future access
should a management regime that limits participation in the Federal
charter vessel/headboat (for-hire) component of the recreational
sectors is implemented. If the Council decides to amend the FMPs to
restrict participation in the Federal for-hire components of the
recreational sectors of the Atlantic coastal migratory pelagics,
Atlantic dolphin and wahoo, or South Atlantic snapper-grouper fisheries
in relation to this control date, an analysis of the specific
administrative, biological, economic, and social effects will be
prepared at that time. The Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council
will also need to approve any such action taken toward the management
of any species within the CMP FMP.
Participants, and other persons, interested in obtaining a Federal
for-hire permit for the Atlantic coastal migratory pelagics, Atlantic
dolphin and wahoo, or South Atlantic snapper-grouper fisheries after
the control date are not assured of future access to these for-hire
components should management changes be implemented that would restrict
participation. Such management changes would require preparation of
amendments to the respective FMPs, NMFS publication of a notice of
availability and proposed rule in the Federal Register with public
comment periods, and NMFS approval of the FMP amendments and issuance
of a final rule.
Fishermen are not guaranteed future participation in a fishery,
sector, or component within a sector regardless of when they obtained
their permits or of their level of participation in the fishery,
sector, or component within a sector before or after the control date
under consideration. The Council subsequently may choose a different
control date, or they may propose different management approaches
without using a control date. The Council also may choose to take no
further action to propose measures to control entry or access to the
Federal for-hire components of the recreational sectors of the Atlantic
coastal migratory pelagics, Atlantic dolphin and wahoo, or South
Atlantic snapper-grouper fisheries.
Interested participants should locate and preserve records that
substantiate and verify their participation in the Federal for-hire
components of the recreational sectors of the Atlantic coastal
migratory pelagics, Atlantic dolphin and wahoo, or South Atlantic
snapper-grouper fisheries.
(Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.)
Dated: February 2, 2024.
Samuel D. Rauch, III,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2024-02509 Filed 2-7-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P
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