Control Date To Limit Excessive Accumulation of Control, Qualifying Landings History, and Referendum Eligibility in the Small-Mesh Multispecies Fishery, 70988-70990 [2012-28838]
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Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 229 / Wednesday, November 28, 2012 / Proposed Rules
erowe on DSK2VPTVN1PROD with
abundance of plastics in the California
Current, and their impact on ashy
storm-petrels.
(16) Military activities at sea and on
islands off the coast of California and
northern Baja California, Mexico, and
their impacts on ashy storm-petrels.
(17) Factors that pose a threat to ashy
storm-petrels (those listed above, and
otherwise) and the potential cumulative
effects of these factors and their impacts
on ashy storm-petrels.
Please note that comments merely
stating support for or opposition to the
action under consideration without
providing supporting information,
although noted, will not be considered
in making a determination, because
section 4(b)(1)(A) of the Act directs that
determinations as to whether any
species is a threatened or endangered
species must be made ‘‘solely on the
basis of the best scientific and
commercial data available.’’ At the
conclusion of the status review, we will
issue a new 12-month finding on the
petition, as provided in section
4(b)(3)(B) of the Act.
You may submit your information and
materials concerning this finding by one
of the methods listed in the ADDRESSES
section.
Before including your address, phone
number, email address, or other
personal identifying information in your
information, you should be aware that
we will post your entire comment—
including your personal identifying
information—on https://
www.regulations.gov. While you can ask
us in your comment to withhold your
personal identifying information from
public review, we cannot guarantee that
we will be able to do so.
Information and materials we receive,
as well as supporting documentation we
used in preparing this finding, will be
available for public inspection on
https://www.regulations.gov, or by
appointment, during normal business
hours, at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service, Bay Delta Fish and Wildlife
Office (see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
CONTACT).
Background
Section 4(b)(3)(A) of the Act requires
that we make a finding on whether a
petition to list, delist, or reclassify a
species presents substantial scientific or
commercial information indicating that
the petitioned action may be warranted.
We are to base this finding on
information provided in the petition,
supporting information submitted with
the petition, and information otherwise
available in our files. To the maximum
extent practicable, we are to make this
finding within 90 days of our receipt of
VerDate Mar<15>2010
16:50 Nov 27, 2012
Jkt 229001
the petition and publish our notice of
the finding promptly in the Federal
Register.
Our standard for substantial scientific
or commercial information within the
Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) with
regard to a 90-day petition finding is
‘‘that amount of information that would
lead a reasonable person to believe that
the measure proposed in the petition
may be warranted’’ (50 CFR 424.14(b)).
If we find that substantial scientific or
commercial information was presented,
we are required to promptly initiate a
species status review, which we
subsequently summarize in our 12month finding. This notice initiates our
status review.
On October 16, 2007, we received a
petition from the Center for Biological
Diversity, requesting that we list the
ashy storm-petrel as a threatened or
endangered species throughout its range
and that we concurrently designate
critical habitat. In response to the
petition, we sent a letter to the
petitioner dated January 11, 2008,
stating that we had secured funding and
that we anticipated making an initial
finding as to whether the petition
contained substantial information
indicating that listing the ashy stormpetrel may be warranted in Fiscal Year
2008. On May 15, 2008, we published
a 90-day petition finding (73 FR 28080)
in which we concluded that the petition
provided substantial information
indicating that listing of the ashy stormpetrel may be warranted, and we
initiated a status review. On August 19,
2009, we announced our 12-month
finding (74 FR 41832) in which we
found that, after reviewing the best
available scientific and commercial
information, listing the ashy stormpetrel was not warranted. The Center for
Biological Diversity challenged this
decision in the District Court of the
Northern District of California on
October 25, 2010 (Center for Biological
Diversity v. Salazar, et al., No. 4:10–CV–
4861–DMR (N. D. CA). This challenge
was resolved by a September 16, 2011,
Stipulation of Dismissal, based on the
September 9, 2011, approval of two
settlements in In re Endangered Species
Act Section 4 Deadline Litig., Misc.
Action No. 10–377 (EGS), MDL Docket
No. 2165 (D. D.C.), in which the Service
agreed to submit a warranted 12-month
finding with a concurrent proposed rule
to list the ashy storm-petrel or a notwarranted finding regarding the ashy
storm-petrel to the Federal Register by
the end of Fiscal Year 2013.
At this time, we are soliciting new
information on the status of and
potential threats to the ashy stormpetrel. Information submitted in
PO 00000
Frm 00048
Fmt 4702
Sfmt 4702
response to our 2009 12-month finding
will be considered and need not be
resubmitted. We will base our 12-month
finding on a review of the best scientific
and commercial information available,
including all information received as a
result of this notice. For more
information on the biology, habitat, and
range of the ashy storm-petrel, please
refer to our previous 12-month finding
published in the Federal Register on
August 19, 2009 (74 FR 41832).
Author
The primary authors of this document
are staff of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service, Bay-Delta Field Office.
Authority
The authority for this action is the
Endangered Species Act of 1973, as
amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.).
Dated: September 5, 2012.
Rowan W. Gould,
Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
[FR Doc. 2012–28811 Filed 11–27–12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310–55–P
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration
50 CFR Part 648
[Docket No. 121115632–2632–01]
RIN 0648–BC70
Control Date To Limit Excessive
Accumulation of Control, Qualifying
Landings History, and Referendum
Eligibility in the Small-Mesh
Multispecies Fishery
National Marine Fisheries
Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
Commerce.
ACTION: Advance notice of proposed
rulemaking (ANPR); request for
comments.
AGENCY:
At the request of the New
England Fishery Management Council,
this notice announces a ‘‘control date’’
that may be used as a reference for
future management actions applicable
to, but not limited to, qualifying
landings and permit history for a
limited access or allocation-based
management program and limits on the
accumulation of excessive control or
ownership of fishing privileges in the
small-mesh multispecies fishery. This
notice is intended to promote awareness
of possible rulemaking; notify the public
that any future accumulation of fishing
privilege interests in the small-mesh
SUMMARY:
E:\FR\FM\28NOP1.SGM
28NOP1
erowe on DSK2VPTVN1PROD with
Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 229 / Wednesday, November 28, 2012 / Proposed Rules
multispecies fishery may be affected,
restricted, or even nullified; and
discourage speculative behavior in the
market for fishing privileges while the
New England Fishery Management
Council considers whether and how
such limitations on accumulation of
fishing privileges should be developed.
Interested participants should locate
and preserve records that substantiate
and verify their control of small-mesh
multispecies permits and other fishing
privileges, as well as red, silver, and
offshore hake, collectively known as
small-mesh multispecies, landings
history from Federal waters.
DATES: November 28, 2012, shall be
known as the ‘‘control date’’ for the
small-mesh multispecies fishery and
may be used as a reference for future
management measures related to the
maintenance of a fishery with
characteristics consistent with the
Councils’ objectives and applicable
Federal laws. Written comments must
be received on or before 5 p.m., local
time, December 28, 2012.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments
on this document, identified by
‘‘NOAA–NMFS–2012–0212,’’ by any of
the following methods:
• Electronic Submission: Submit all
electronic public comments via the
Federal e-Rulemaking Portal
www.regulations.gov. To submit
comments via the e-Rulemaking Portal,
first click the ‘‘submit a comment’’ icon,
then enter ‘‘NOAA–NMFS–2012–0212’’
in the keyword search. Locate the
document you wish to comment on
from the resulting list and click on the
‘‘Submit a Comment’’ icon on the right
of that line.
• Mail: Submit written comments to
John Bullard, Regional Administrator,
National Marine Fisheries Service, 55
Great Republic Drive, Gloucester, MA
01930. Mark the outside of the
envelope, ‘‘Comments on SMMS
Limited Access and Accumulation
Limits Control Date.’’
• Fax: (978) 281–9135; Attn: Moira
Kelly.
Instructions: Comments must be
submitted by one of the above methods
to ensure that the comments are
received, documented, and considered
by NMFS. 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. All comments received are
a part of the public record and will
generally be posted for public viewing
on www.regulations.gov without change.
All personal identifying information
(e.g., name, address, etc.) submitted
voluntarily by the sender will be
VerDate Mar<15>2010
13:16 Nov 27, 2012
Jkt 229001
publicly accessible. Do not submit
confidential business information, or
otherwise sensitive or protected
information. NMFS will accept
anonymous comments (enter ‘‘N/A’’ in
the required fields if you wish to remain
anonymous). Attachments to electronic
comments will be accepted in Microsoft
Word or Excel, WordPerfect, or Adobe
PDF file formats only.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Moira Kelly, Fishery Policy Analyst,
phone: 978–281–9218, fax: 978–281–
9135.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The smallmesh multispecies fishery is composed
of five stocks of three species of hakes
(northern silver hake, southern silver
hake, northern red hake, southern red
hake, and offshore hake), and the fishery
is managed primarily through a series of
exemptions from the Northeast
Multispecies Fishery Management Plan
(FMP). The New England Fishery
Management Council (Council) manages
these fisheries through annual catch
limits, in-season and post-season
accountability measures, and possession
limits.
According to the most recent
assessment, none of the small-mesh
multispecies stocks are currently
overfished or in danger of being
overfished, and overfishing is not
occurring. The Council sets limits to
achieve maximum sustainable yield,
which allows for positive impacts to
human communities, yet measures
(primarily possession limits) are
included in the FMP to minimize
excessive fishing effort. Despite this and
the relatively stable recent catches, the
potential remains for a rapid increase in
effort and catch due to the open access
management status.
Limited access alternatives for the
small-mesh multispecies fishery were
proposed during 2000 for incorporation
in Amendment 12, using a September 9,
1996, control date. The Council
proposed entry requirements based on
historic participation in the small-mesh
multispecies fishery, including factors
such as amount of small-mesh
multispecies landed and whether or not
the vessel had obtained a multispecies
permit on or before the previous control
date of September 9, 1996. Future
participation would have included
catch restrictions based on a vessel’s
past involvement in the fishery. The
limited access provisions of
Amendment 12 were disapproved by
NMFS because they were inconsistent
with National Standard 4 regarding
fairness and equity of the qualifying
criteria, and section 304(e) of the
Magnuson-Stevens Fishery
PO 00000
Frm 00049
Fmt 4702
Sfmt 4702
70989
Conservation and Management Act,
regarding achieving rebuilding
objectives. The Council later updated
the control date to March 23, 2003,
intended for use as part of the basis for
determination of potential limited
access eligibility with a different set of
eligibility criteria. However,
development of the limited access
program for the small-mesh
multispecies fishery stalled due to other
priorities of the Council.
The Council is reconsidering limited
access in the small-mesh multispecies
fishery to address the potential for a
rapid increase in fishing effort that
could cause overfishing and destabilize
markets. Limited access criteria may
differ between the northern and
southern stock areas due to fishery
characteristics and participation.
Historically, the northern stock area has
seen greater activity involving smallmesh multispecies vessels and trips
than the southern stock area. However,
access to the directed small-mesh
multispecies fishery is more limited in
the northern stock area than in the
southern stock area. The northern stock
area is managed with a series of access
areas and seasons, while the vessels
may fish with small mesh throughout
the southern area year-round. The
Council may choose alternatives that
account for differences between the
areas, focusing on preventing excessive
fishing effort. Limited access
alternatives may apply to any vessel
landing any amount of small-mesh
multispecies, or only vessels targeting or
landing larger amounts of small-mesh
multispecies. The Council intends to
develop alternatives that will have
thresholds for determining whether a
vessel qualifies for limited access or
allocation based management program,
and, possibly, limits on the
accumulation of excessive fishing
privileges. The Council may develop
alternatives for sector management as
well as for limited access. This may
include determination of potential
section contributions based on a
qualifying vessel’s history in the fishery.
Because the last control date for this
fishery is over 10 years old and may not
reflect current fishing activities, the
Council requested at is September 2012
meeting that NMFS publish this new
ANPR ‘‘control date.’’
The date of publication of this
notification, November 28, 2012, shall
be known as the ‘‘control date’’ for the
small-mesh multispecies fishery and
may be used as a reference for future
management measures in determining
how to treat landings and permit history
acquired before or after this date for
purposes of establishing a limited access
E:\FR\FM\28NOP1.SGM
28NOP1
70990
Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 229 / Wednesday, November 28, 2012 / Proposed Rules
erowe on DSK2VPTVN1PROD with
or allocation-based management
program, as well as possibly limiting the
accumulation of fishing privileges
acquired before or after this date,
depending on the Council’s
determinations on limiting access,
control, or ownership of such landings
and privileges. The establishment of a
control date, however, does not obligate
the Council to use this control date or
take any action, nor does it prevent the
Council from picking another control
date or imposing limits on permits
acquired prior to the control date.
Accordingly, this notification is
intended to promote awareness that the
Council may develop management
measures to address these concerns; to
provide notice to the public that any
current or future accumulation of
VerDate Mar<15>2010
13:16 Nov 27, 2012
Jkt 229001
fishing privilege interests in the smallmesh multispecies fishery may be
affected, restricted, or even nullified;
and discourage speculative behavior in
the market for fishing privileges while
the Council considers whether and how
such limitations on accumulation of
fishing privileges should be developed.
Any measures the Council considers
may require changes to the Northeast
Multispecies FMP. Such measures may
be adopted in a future amendment to
the FMP, which would include
opportunity for further public
participation and comment.
This notification also gives the public
notice that interested participants
should locate and preserve records that
substantiate and verify their control of
small-mesh multispecies permits and
PO 00000
Frm 00050
Fmt 4702
Sfmt 9990
other fishing privileges in the smallmesh multispecies fishery, as well as
small-mesh multispecies landings from
Federal waters. Fishing privileges
include, but are not limited to vessels,
fishing permits, and any other type of
catch limit or share.
This notification and control date do
not impose any legal obligations,
requirements, or expectation.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
Dated: November 21, 2012.
Alan D. Risenhoover,
Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries,
performing the functions and duties of the
Deputy Assistant Administrator for
Regulatory Programs, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2012–28838 Filed 11–27–12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–22–P
E:\FR\FM\28NOP1.SGM
28NOP1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 229 (Wednesday, November 28, 2012)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 70988-70990]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-28838]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 648
[Docket No. 121115632-2632-01]
RIN 0648-BC70
Control Date To Limit Excessive Accumulation of Control,
Qualifying Landings History, and Referendum Eligibility in the Small-
Mesh Multispecies Fishery
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPR); request for
comments.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: At the request of the New England Fishery Management Council,
this notice announces a ``control date'' that may be used as a
reference for future management actions applicable to, but not limited
to, qualifying landings and permit history for a limited access or
allocation-based management program and limits on the accumulation of
excessive control or ownership of fishing privileges in the small-mesh
multispecies fishery. This notice is intended to promote awareness of
possible rulemaking; notify the public that any future accumulation of
fishing privilege interests in the small-mesh
[[Page 70989]]
multispecies fishery may be affected, restricted, or even nullified;
and discourage speculative behavior in the market for fishing
privileges while the New England Fishery Management Council considers
whether and how such limitations on accumulation of fishing privileges
should be developed. Interested participants should locate and preserve
records that substantiate and verify their control of small-mesh
multispecies permits and other fishing privileges, as well as red,
silver, and offshore hake, collectively known as small-mesh
multispecies, landings history from Federal waters.
DATES: November 28, 2012, shall be known as the ``control date'' for
the small-mesh multispecies fishery and may be used as a reference for
future management measures related to the maintenance of a fishery with
characteristics consistent with the Councils' objectives and applicable
Federal laws. Written comments must be received on or before 5 p.m.,
local time, December 28, 2012.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments on this document, identified by
``NOAA-NMFS-2012-0212,'' by any of the following methods:
Electronic Submission: Submit all electronic public
comments via the Federal e-Rulemaking Portal www.regulations.gov. To
submit comments via the e-Rulemaking Portal, first click the ``submit a
comment'' icon, then enter ``NOAA-NMFS-2012-0212'' in the keyword
search. Locate the document you wish to comment on from the resulting
list and click on the ``Submit a Comment'' icon on the right of that
line.
Mail: Submit written comments to John Bullard, Regional
Administrator, National Marine Fisheries Service, 55 Great Republic
Drive, Gloucester, MA 01930. Mark the outside of the envelope,
``Comments on SMMS Limited Access and Accumulation Limits Control
Date.''
Fax: (978) 281-9135; Attn: Moira Kelly.
Instructions: Comments must be submitted by one of the above
methods to ensure that the comments are received, documented, and
considered by NMFS. 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. All comments received are a part of the public
record and will generally be posted for public viewing on
www.regulations.gov without change. All personal identifying
information (e.g., name, address, etc.) submitted voluntarily by the
sender will be publicly accessible. Do not submit confidential business
information, or otherwise sensitive or protected information. NMFS will
accept anonymous comments (enter ``N/A'' in the required fields if you
wish to remain anonymous). Attachments to electronic comments will be
accepted in Microsoft Word or Excel, WordPerfect, or Adobe PDF file
formats only.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Moira Kelly, Fishery Policy Analyst,
phone: 978-281-9218, fax: 978-281-9135.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The small-mesh multispecies fishery is
composed of five stocks of three species of hakes (northern silver
hake, southern silver hake, northern red hake, southern red hake, and
offshore hake), and the fishery is managed primarily through a series
of exemptions from the Northeast Multispecies Fishery Management Plan
(FMP). The New England Fishery Management Council (Council) manages
these fisheries through annual catch limits, in-season and post-season
accountability measures, and possession limits.
According to the most recent assessment, none of the small-mesh
multispecies stocks are currently overfished or in danger of being
overfished, and overfishing is not occurring. The Council sets limits
to achieve maximum sustainable yield, which allows for positive impacts
to human communities, yet measures (primarily possession limits) are
included in the FMP to minimize excessive fishing effort. Despite this
and the relatively stable recent catches, the potential remains for a
rapid increase in effort and catch due to the open access management
status.
Limited access alternatives for the small-mesh multispecies fishery
were proposed during 2000 for incorporation in Amendment 12, using a
September 9, 1996, control date. The Council proposed entry
requirements based on historic participation in the small-mesh
multispecies fishery, including factors such as amount of small-mesh
multispecies landed and whether or not the vessel had obtained a
multispecies permit on or before the previous control date of September
9, 1996. Future participation would have included catch restrictions
based on a vessel's past involvement in the fishery. The limited access
provisions of Amendment 12 were disapproved by NMFS because they were
inconsistent with National Standard 4 regarding fairness and equity of
the qualifying criteria, and section 304(e) of the Magnuson-Stevens
Fishery Conservation and Management Act, regarding achieving rebuilding
objectives. The Council later updated the control date to March 23,
2003, intended for use as part of the basis for determination of
potential limited access eligibility with a different set of
eligibility criteria. However, development of the limited access
program for the small-mesh multispecies fishery stalled due to other
priorities of the Council.
The Council is reconsidering limited access in the small-mesh
multispecies fishery to address the potential for a rapid increase in
fishing effort that could cause overfishing and destabilize markets.
Limited access criteria may differ between the northern and southern
stock areas due to fishery characteristics and participation.
Historically, the northern stock area has seen greater activity
involving small-mesh multispecies vessels and trips than the southern
stock area. However, access to the directed small-mesh multispecies
fishery is more limited in the northern stock area than in the southern
stock area. The northern stock area is managed with a series of access
areas and seasons, while the vessels may fish with small mesh
throughout the southern area year-round. The Council may choose
alternatives that account for differences between the areas, focusing
on preventing excessive fishing effort. Limited access alternatives may
apply to any vessel landing any amount of small-mesh multispecies, or
only vessels targeting or landing larger amounts of small-mesh
multispecies. The Council intends to develop alternatives that will
have thresholds for determining whether a vessel qualifies for limited
access or allocation based management program, and, possibly, limits on
the accumulation of excessive fishing privileges. The Council may
develop alternatives for sector management as well as for limited
access. This may include determination of potential section
contributions based on a qualifying vessel's history in the fishery.
Because the last control date for this fishery is over 10 years old and
may not reflect current fishing activities, the Council requested at is
September 2012 meeting that NMFS publish this new ANPR ``control
date.''
The date of publication of this notification, November 28, 2012,
shall be known as the ``control date'' for the small-mesh multispecies
fishery and may be used as a reference for future management measures
in determining how to treat landings and permit history acquired before
or after this date for purposes of establishing a limited access
[[Page 70990]]
or allocation-based management program, as well as possibly limiting
the accumulation of fishing privileges acquired before or after this
date, depending on the Council's determinations on limiting access,
control, or ownership of such landings and privileges. The
establishment of a control date, however, does not obligate the Council
to use this control date or take any action, nor does it prevent the
Council from picking another control date or imposing limits on permits
acquired prior to the control date. Accordingly, this notification is
intended to promote awareness that the Council may develop management
measures to address these concerns; to provide notice to the public
that any current or future accumulation of fishing privilege interests
in the small-mesh multispecies fishery may be affected, restricted, or
even nullified; and discourage speculative behavior in the market for
fishing privileges while the Council considers whether and how such
limitations on accumulation of fishing privileges should be developed.
Any measures the Council considers may require changes to the Northeast
Multispecies FMP. Such measures may be adopted in a future amendment to
the FMP, which would include opportunity for further public
participation and comment.
This notification also gives the public notice that interested
participants should locate and preserve records that substantiate and
verify their control of small-mesh multispecies permits and other
fishing privileges in the small-mesh multispecies fishery, as well as
small-mesh multispecies landings from Federal waters. Fishing
privileges include, but are not limited to vessels, fishing permits,
and any other type of catch limit or share.
This notification and control date do not impose any legal
obligations, requirements, or expectation.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
Dated: November 21, 2012.
Alan D. Risenhoover,
Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, performing the functions and
duties of the Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs,
National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2012-28838 Filed 11-27-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P
