Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and South Atlantic; Revisions to Dealer Permitting and Reporting Requirements for Species Managed by the Gulf of Mexico and South Atlantic Fishery Management Councils, 76807-76809 [2013-30134]
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pmangrum on DSK3VPTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS-1
Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 244 / Thursday, December 19, 2013 / Proposed Rules
consideration. The range of a species
can theoretically be divided into
portions an infinite number of ways.
However, there is no purpose to
analyzing portions of the range that are
not reasonably likely to be both (1)
significant and (2) threatened or
endangered. To identify only those
portions that warrant further
consideration, we determine whether
substantial information indicates that:
(1) The portions may be significant, and
(2) the species may be in danger of
extinction there or likely to become so
within the foreseeable future. In
practice, a key part of this analysis is
whether the threats are geographically
concentrated in some way. If the threats
to the species are essentially uniform
throughout its range, no portion is likely
to warrant further consideration.
Moreover, if any concentration of
threats applies only to portions of the
species’ range that are not significant,
such portions will not warrant further
consideration.
If we identify portions that warrant
further consideration, we then
determine whether the species is
threatened or endangered in these
portions of its range. Depending on the
biology of the species, its range, and the
threats it faces, the Service may address
either the significance question or the
status question first. Thus, if the Service
considers significance first and
determines that a portion of the range is
not significant, the Service need not
determine whether the species is
threatened or endangered there.
Likewise, if the Service considers status
first and determines that the species is
not threatened or endangered in a
portion of its range, the Service need not
determine if that portion is significant.
However, if the Service determines that
both a portion of the range of a species
is significant and the species is
threatened or endangered there, the
Service will specify that portion of the
range as threatened or endangered
under section 4(c)(1) of the Act.
In our analysis for this listing
determination, we determined that the
Coleman’s coralroot does not meet the
definition of an endangered or
threatened species throughout its entire
range. We found that there are
geographically concentrated stressors.
The effects from the proposed Rosemont
Copper Mine (located on the east side of
the Santa Rita Mountains) and Hermosa
Drilling Project (located in the Patagonia
Mountains) will be limited to 5 of 22
confirmed extant colonies of Coleman’s
coralroot, including 4 colonies located
in McCleary and Wasp Canyons in the
Santa Rita Mountains, and 1 located in
Hermosa Canyon in the Patagonia
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Mountains. Two of these colonies are
expected to be extirpated. Even if these
2 colonies are extirpated, the Coleman’s
coralroot will continue to remain in 20
other colonies across 7 mountain ranges.
There is enough redundancy in the
remaining populations spread over a
wide geographic area that the species
will continue to persist.
Furthermore, determining the effect of
the potential loss of these individual
plants on the rangewide status of the
species is challenging because of the
lack of information on population
ecology and demographics. For
instance, we have no information
regarding the degree to which these
populations exchange genetic material,
if these two colonies represent a unique
genetic diversity, or the degree to which
they may behave as subpopulations
within a metapopulation. There is no
information regarding how the number
of aboveground flowering plants
correlates with the total number of
orchids, including those living
underground as a rhizome or tuber.
Thus, it is very difficult to determine
how resilient the species is to
withstanding demographic and
environmental variation. These
information gaps and uncertainties
make it difficult to extrapolate
population sizes, to evaluate trends, or
to make meaningful comparisons within
and across years. Based on the best
available information, we have no
evidence to indicate that the two
colonies we expect to be extirpated are
a significant portion of the current range
of the species or that they contribute
substantially to the representation,
resiliency, or redundancy of the species.
Therefore, we have no information to
indicate that the contribution of five
colonies that will be impacted from
mining are at a level such that their loss
would result in a decrease in the ability
to conserve the species.
Our review of the best available
scientific and commercial information
indicates that the Coleman’s coralroot is
not in danger of extinction now
(endangered) nor likely to become
endangered within the foreseeable
future (threatened) throughout all or a
significant portion of its range.
Although we expect two colonies (upper
McCleary and Wasp Canyons) to be
severely compromised or lost, and three
other colonies (lower and middle
McCleary, and Hermosa Canyons) to be
detrimentally affected, we have no
information to indicate that these losses
would have a negative impact on the
overall species across its entire range.
Accordingly, we do not find that threats
to the portion of the species’ range in
McCleary, Wasp, and Hermosa Canyons
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76807
would likely place the species in danger
of extinction throughout its entire range.
Because the portion of the Coleman’s
coralroot colonies in these canyons due
to mining is not significant enough that
their potential loss would render the
species in danger of extinction now or
in the foreseeable future, we conclude
that these colonies do not constitute a
significant portion of the species’ range.
Therefore, we find that listing the
Coleman’s coralroot as an endangered or
threatened species under the Act is not
warranted at this time.
We request that any new information
concerning the status of, or threats to,
Coleman’s coralroot be submitted to our
Arizona Ecological Services Field Office
(see ADDRESSES section) whenever it
becomes available. New information
will help us monitor the species and
encourage its conservation. If an
emergency situation develops for
Coleman’s coralroot, or any other
species, we will act to provide
immediate protection.
References Cited
A complete list of references cited is
available on the Internet at https://
www.regulations.gov and upon request
from the Arizona Ecological Services
Office (see ADDRESSES section).
Author(s)
The primary authors of this notice are
the staff members of the Arizona
Ecological Services Field Office.
Authority
The authority for this finding is
section 4 of the Endangered Species Act
of 1973, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et
seq.).
Dated: December 2, 2013.
Rowan W. Gould,
Acting Director, Fish and Wildlife Service.
[FR Doc. 2013–29967 Filed 12–18–13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310–55–P
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration
50 CFR Parts 622 and 640
RIN 0648–BC12
Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of
Mexico, and South Atlantic; Revisions
to Dealer Permitting and Reporting
Requirements for Species Managed by
the Gulf of Mexico and South Atlantic
Fishery Management Councils
National Marine Fisheries
Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
AGENCY:
E:\FR\FM\19DEP1.SGM
19DEP1
76808
Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 244 / Thursday, December 19, 2013 / Proposed Rules
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
Commerce.
ACTION: Notice of availability; request
for comments.
The Gulf of Mexico (Gulf) and
South Atlantic Fishery Management
Councils (Councils) have submitted a
Generic Amendment to the Fishery
Management Plans (FMPs) in the Gulf
and South Atlantic Regions (Generic
Dealer Amendment) for review,
approval, and implementation by
NMFS. The Generic Dealer Amendment
amends the following FMPs: Reef Fish
Resources and the Red Drum Fishery of
the Gulf; the Snapper-Grouper Fishery
(including wreckfish), the Golden Crab
Fishery, and the Shrimp Fishery
(excluding penaeid shrimp) of the South
Atlantic Region; the Dolphin and
Wahoo Fishery of the Atlantic; and
Coastal Migratory Pelagic (CMP)
Resources and the Spiny Lobster
Fishery of the Gulf and South Atlantic.
The Generic Dealer Amendment would
modify the permitting and reporting
requirements for seafood dealers who
first receive species managed by the
Councils through the previously
mentioned FMPs. These revisions
would create a single dealer permit for
dealers who first receive fish managed
by the Councils, require both purchase
and non-purchase reports to be
submitted online on a weekly basis, not
authorizing dealers to purchase fish
from federally-permitted vessels if they
are delinquent in submitting reports,
and modify the sale and purchase
provisions based on the new dealer
permitting requirements. The intent of
the amendment is to obtain timelier
purchase information from dealers to
help reduce annual catch limit (ACL)
underages and overages, and achieve
optimum yield in accordance with the
requirements of the Magnuson-Stevens
Fishery Conservation and Management
Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act).
DATES: Written comments must be
received on or before February 18, 2014.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments
on the amendment identified by
‘‘NOAA–NMFS–2012–0206’’ by any of
the following methods:
• Electronic submissions: Submit
electronic comments via the Federal eRulemaking Portal: https://
www.regulations.gov. Follow the
‘‘Instructions’’ for submitting comments.
• Mail: Rich Malinowski, Southeast
Regional Office, NMFS, 263 13th
Avenue South, St. Petersburg, FL 33701.
Instructions: All comments received
are a part of the public record and will
generally be posted to https://
www.regulations.gov without change.
pmangrum on DSK3VPTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS-1
SUMMARY:
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All Personal Identifying Information (for
example, name, address, etc.)
voluntarily submitted by the commenter
may 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 field if you wish to
remain anonymous).
To submit comments through the
Federal e-Rulemaking Portal: https://
www.regulations.gov, enter ‘‘NOAA–
NMFS–2012–0206’’ in the search field
and click on ‘‘search.’’ After you locate
the notice of availability, click the
‘‘Submit a Comment’’ link in that row.
This will display the comment web
form. You can then enter your submitter
information (unless you prefer to remain
anonymous), and type your comment on
the web form. You can also attach
additional files (up to 10MB) in
Microsoft Word, Excel, WordPerfect, or
Adobe PDF file formats only.
Comments received through means
not specified in this notice will not be
considered.
For further assistance with submitting
a comment, see the ‘‘Commenting’’
section at https://www.regulations.gov/
#!faqs or the Help section at https://
www.regulations.gov.
Electronic copies of the amendment
may be obtained from the Southeast
Regional Office Web site at https://
sero.nmfs.noaa.gov.
Rich
Malinowski, Southeast Regional Office,
NMFS, telephone 727–824–5305; email:
rich.malinowski@noaa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The
Magnuson-Stevens Act requires each
regional fishery management council to
submit any fishery management plan or
amendment to NMFS for review and
approval, disapproval, or partial
approval. The Magnuson-Stevens Act
also requires that NMFS, upon receiving
a plan or amendment, publish an
announcement in the Federal Register
notifying the public that the plan or
amendment is available for review and
comment.
The FMPs being revised by this
amendment were prepared by the
Councils and are implemented through
regulations at 50 CFR part 622 and part
640 under the authority of the
Magnuson-Stevens Act.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Background
The Magnuson-Stevens Act requires
NMFS and regional fishery management
councils to prevent overfishing and
achieve, on a continuing basis, the
optimum yield from federally managed
fish stocks. These mandates are
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Fmt 4702
Sfmt 4702
intended to ensure fishery resources are
managed for the greatest overall benefit
to the nation, particularly with respect
to providing food production and
recreational opportunities, and
protecting marine ecosystems. To
further this goal, the Magnuson-Stevens
Act requires fishery managers to specify
their strategy to rebuild overfished
stocks to a sustainable level within a
certain time frame, to minimize bycatch
and bycatch mortality to the extent
practicable, and to establish
accountability measures (AMs) for a
stock to ensure ACLs are not exceeded.
The intent of the Generic Dealer
Amendment is to improve the
timeliness and accuracy of dealer
reporting, which will help achieve
harvest targets. Many commercial
fisheries have AMs that implement
closures of fisheries when the
commercial ACLs are projected to be
met. The current reporting frequency
reduces the precision of the projections,
which may result in estimates of
landings significantly less or greater
than the ACL. When fisheries are closed
well before the ACL is met, optimum
yield may not be achieved. In turn,
overages have the potential to result in
significant disruption in fishing
behavior the following fishing year and,
reduce revenue and profit for fishermen.
Overages also decrease the ability of
stocks to rebuild when overfished and
may lead to overfishing conditions. The
proposed actions, including increasing
the frequency of dealer reporting and
requiring more dealers to report, are
intended to result in better monitoring
of the ACLs. Actions Contained in the
Generic Dealer Amendment.
The Generic Dealer Amendment
would modify the current permitting
and reporting requirements for seafood
dealers who first receive fish managed
by the Councils through eight FMPs.
Currently, the following six Federal
dealer permits exist for purchasing
product in the Southeast Region:
Atlantic Dolphin-Wahoo, Gulf Reef
Fish, South Atlantic Golden Crab, South
Atlantic Rock Shrimp, South Atlantic
Snapper Grouper (excluding wreckfish),
and South Atlantic Wreckfish. The
Generic Dealer Amendment proposes to
create a single dealer permit that would
be required for the species currently
covered by the six dealer permits. In
addition, the dealer permit would be
required to first receive the following
species from federally permitted vessels:
Gulf and South Atlantic CMP, Gulf and
South Atlantic spiny lobster, and Gulf
Red Drum. If the proposed actions are
implemented, the universal dealer
permit would be required for all species
managed by the Councils except for
E:\FR\FM\19DEP1.SGM
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Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 244 / Thursday, December 19, 2013 / Proposed Rules
pmangrum on DSK3VPTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS-1
species in the following five FMPs:
Coral, Coral Reefs, and Live/Hard
Bottom Habitats of the South Atlantic
Region; Pelagic Sargassum Habitat of
the South Atlantic Region; Coral and
Coral Reefs of the Gulf, Shrimp Fishery
of the Gulf, and Shrimp Fishery of the
South Atlantic Region (excluding rock
shrimp).
The Councils exempted penaeid
shrimp species from the universal
dealer permit because there are no ACLs
established for these species. Thus, the
current reporting system is adequate for
determining catch and effort for these
species and the administrative burden
of issuing such a large number of
shrimp dealer permits would outweigh
the benefits from more timely shrimp
dealer reports. The Councils did not
include corals or pelagic Sargassum
because coral harvest is limited to
octocoral harvest off Florida and does
not require a Federal harvest permit if
landed in Florida, and no recorded
harvest of pelagic Sargassum from
Federal waters occurs.
Currently, federally permitted Gulf
reef fish, South Atlantic snappergrouper, and South Atlantic wreckfish
dealers, and dealers with records of king
mackerel or Spanish mackerel from the
previous year, are required to submit
dealer purchase forms every 2 weeks via
fax or online through the appropriate
state trip ticket reporting system. South
Atlantic golden crab, rock shrimp, and
Atlantic dolphin-wahoo dealers are
required to submit dealer purchase
forms on a monthly basis via fax or
online through the appropriate state trip
ticket reporting system. Reports are
currently due 5 days after the end of
each reporting period.
If implemented, the Generic Dealer
Amendment would require federally
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15:17 Dec 18, 2013
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permitted dealers to submit forms
electronically (via computer or internet)
on a weekly basis. Dealer reports for
trips landing species between Sunday
through Saturday would be required to
be submitted by 11:59 p.m., local time,
the following Tuesday. In addition,
federally permitted dealers would be
required to submit records of no
purchases electronically (via computer
or internet) at the same frequency and
via the same process as records for
purchases.
Dealer reports would be required to be
submitted through the dealer electronic
trip ticket reporting system. Electronic
reports are currently authorized in each
state, except for South Carolina, which
currently requires paper reporting. The
data elements that would be required
through this Generic Dealer Amendment
are consistent with the information
currently required by the state trip ticket
programs.
This amendment would also stipulate
that dealers who are delinquent in
submitting their reports are not
authorized to receive fish from
federally-permitted vessels until they
have submitted all reports on purchases
and no purchases.
This amendment would place new
restrictions on certain dealers who
currently are not required to have a
Federal dealer permit and on certain
fishermen who can currently sell to
state dealers. Dealers who first receive
CMP fish and spiny lobster from
federally permitted commercial vessels
or charter vessels/headboats, including
federally permitted shrimp vessels,
would be required to have a Federal
dealer permit and would be required to
report electronically on a weekly basis.
Federally permitted vessels that
currently sell CMP fish and spiny
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76809
lobster to state dealers would be
required to sell them to federally
permitted dealers.
A proposed rule that would
implement the management measures
outlined in the Generic Dealer
Amendment has been drafted. In
accordance with the Magnuson-Stevens
Act, NMFS is evaluating the proposed
rule to determine whether it is
consistent with the FMPs, the
Magnuson-Stevens Act, and other
applicable laws. If the determination is
affirmative, NMFS will publish the
proposed rule in the Federal Register
for public review and comment.
Consideration of Public Comments
The Councils submitted the Generic
Dealer Amendment for Secretarial
review, approval, and implementation.
NMFS’ decision to approve, partially
approve, or disapprove the Amendment
will be based, in part, on consideration
of comments, recommendations, and
information received during the
comment period on this notice of
availability.
Public comments received by 11:59
p.m. eastern time, on February 18, 2014,
will be considered by NMFS in its
decision to approve, partially approve,
or disapprove the Generic Dealer
Amendment. All comments received by
NMFS on the Generic Dealer
Amendment or the proposed rule during
their respective comment periods would
be addressed in a final rule.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
Dated: December 13, 2013.
Sean Corson,
Acting Deputy Director, Office of Sustainable
Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2013–30134 Filed 12–18–13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–22–P
E:\FR\FM\19DEP1.SGM
19DEP1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 244 (Thursday, December 19, 2013)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 76807-76809]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-30134]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Parts 622 and 640
RIN 0648-BC12
Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and South Atlantic;
Revisions to Dealer Permitting and Reporting Requirements for Species
Managed by the Gulf of Mexico and South Atlantic Fishery Management
Councils
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
[[Page 76808]]
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Notice of availability; request for comments.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The Gulf of Mexico (Gulf) and South Atlantic Fishery
Management Councils (Councils) have submitted a Generic Amendment to
the Fishery Management Plans (FMPs) in the Gulf and South Atlantic
Regions (Generic Dealer Amendment) for review, approval, and
implementation by NMFS. The Generic Dealer Amendment amends the
following FMPs: Reef Fish Resources and the Red Drum Fishery of the
Gulf; the Snapper-Grouper Fishery (including wreckfish), the Golden
Crab Fishery, and the Shrimp Fishery (excluding penaeid shrimp) of the
South Atlantic Region; the Dolphin and Wahoo Fishery of the Atlantic;
and Coastal Migratory Pelagic (CMP) Resources and the Spiny Lobster
Fishery of the Gulf and South Atlantic. The Generic Dealer Amendment
would modify the permitting and reporting requirements for seafood
dealers who first receive species managed by the Councils through the
previously mentioned FMPs. These revisions would create a single dealer
permit for dealers who first receive fish managed by the Councils,
require both purchase and non-purchase reports to be submitted online
on a weekly basis, not authorizing dealers to purchase fish from
federally-permitted vessels if they are delinquent in submitting
reports, and modify the sale and purchase provisions based on the new
dealer permitting requirements. The intent of the amendment is to
obtain timelier purchase information from dealers to help reduce annual
catch limit (ACL) underages and overages, and achieve optimum yield in
accordance with the requirements of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery
Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act).
DATES: Written comments must be received on or before February 18,
2014.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments on the amendment identified by
``NOAA-NMFS-2012-0206'' by any of the following methods:
Electronic submissions: Submit electronic comments via the
Federal e-Rulemaking Portal: https://www.regulations.gov. Follow the
``Instructions'' for submitting comments.
Mail: Rich Malinowski, Southeast Regional Office, NMFS,
263 13th Avenue South, St. Petersburg, FL 33701.
Instructions: All comments received are a part of the public record
and will generally be posted to https://www.regulations.gov without
change. All Personal Identifying Information (for example, name,
address, etc.) voluntarily submitted by the commenter may 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 field if you wish to
remain anonymous).
To submit comments through the Federal e-Rulemaking Portal: https://www.regulations.gov, enter ``NOAA-NMFS-2012-0206'' in the search field
and click on ``search.'' After you locate the notice of availability,
click the ``Submit a Comment'' link in that row. This will display the
comment web form. You can then enter your submitter information (unless
you prefer to remain anonymous), and type your comment on the web form.
You can also attach additional files (up to 10MB) in Microsoft Word,
Excel, WordPerfect, or Adobe PDF file formats only.
Comments received through means not specified in this notice will
not be considered.
For further assistance with submitting a comment, see the
``Commenting'' section at https://www.regulations.gov/#!faqs or the Help
section at https://www.regulations.gov.
Electronic copies of the amendment may be obtained from the
Southeast Regional Office Web site at https://sero.nmfs.noaa.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Rich Malinowski, Southeast Regional
Office, NMFS, telephone 727-824-5305; email: rich.malinowski@noaa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Magnuson-Stevens Act requires each
regional fishery management council to submit any fishery management
plan or amendment to NMFS for review and approval, disapproval, or
partial approval. The Magnuson-Stevens Act also requires that NMFS,
upon receiving a plan or amendment, publish an announcement in the
Federal Register notifying the public that the plan or amendment is
available for review and comment.
The FMPs being revised by this amendment were prepared by the
Councils and are implemented through regulations at 50 CFR part 622 and
part 640 under the authority of the Magnuson-Stevens Act.
Background
The Magnuson-Stevens Act requires NMFS and regional fishery
management councils to prevent overfishing and achieve, on a continuing
basis, the optimum yield from federally managed fish stocks. These
mandates are intended to ensure fishery resources are managed for the
greatest overall benefit to the nation, particularly with respect to
providing food production and recreational opportunities, and
protecting marine ecosystems. To further this goal, the Magnuson-
Stevens Act requires fishery managers to specify their strategy to
rebuild overfished stocks to a sustainable level within a certain time
frame, to minimize bycatch and bycatch mortality to the extent
practicable, and to establish accountability measures (AMs) for a stock
to ensure ACLs are not exceeded.
The intent of the Generic Dealer Amendment is to improve the
timeliness and accuracy of dealer reporting, which will help achieve
harvest targets. Many commercial fisheries have AMs that implement
closures of fisheries when the commercial ACLs are projected to be met.
The current reporting frequency reduces the precision of the
projections, which may result in estimates of landings significantly
less or greater than the ACL. When fisheries are closed well before the
ACL is met, optimum yield may not be achieved. In turn, overages have
the potential to result in significant disruption in fishing behavior
the following fishing year and, reduce revenue and profit for
fishermen. Overages also decrease the ability of stocks to rebuild when
overfished and may lead to overfishing conditions. The proposed
actions, including increasing the frequency of dealer reporting and
requiring more dealers to report, are intended to result in better
monitoring of the ACLs. Actions Contained in the Generic Dealer
Amendment.
The Generic Dealer Amendment would modify the current permitting
and reporting requirements for seafood dealers who first receive fish
managed by the Councils through eight FMPs. Currently, the following
six Federal dealer permits exist for purchasing product in the
Southeast Region: Atlantic Dolphin-Wahoo, Gulf Reef Fish, South
Atlantic Golden Crab, South Atlantic Rock Shrimp, South Atlantic
Snapper Grouper (excluding wreckfish), and South Atlantic Wreckfish.
The Generic Dealer Amendment proposes to create a single dealer permit
that would be required for the species currently covered by the six
dealer permits. In addition, the dealer permit would be required to
first receive the following species from federally permitted vessels:
Gulf and South Atlantic CMP, Gulf and South Atlantic spiny lobster, and
Gulf Red Drum. If the proposed actions are implemented, the universal
dealer permit would be required for all species managed by the Councils
except for
[[Page 76809]]
species in the following five FMPs: Coral, Coral Reefs, and Live/Hard
Bottom Habitats of the South Atlantic Region; Pelagic Sargassum Habitat
of the South Atlantic Region; Coral and Coral Reefs of the Gulf, Shrimp
Fishery of the Gulf, and Shrimp Fishery of the South Atlantic Region
(excluding rock shrimp).
The Councils exempted penaeid shrimp species from the universal
dealer permit because there are no ACLs established for these species.
Thus, the current reporting system is adequate for determining catch
and effort for these species and the administrative burden of issuing
such a large number of shrimp dealer permits would outweigh the
benefits from more timely shrimp dealer reports. The Councils did not
include corals or pelagic Sargassum because coral harvest is limited to
octocoral harvest off Florida and does not require a Federal harvest
permit if landed in Florida, and no recorded harvest of pelagic
Sargassum from Federal waters occurs.
Currently, federally permitted Gulf reef fish, South Atlantic
snapper-grouper, and South Atlantic wreckfish dealers, and dealers with
records of king mackerel or Spanish mackerel from the previous year,
are required to submit dealer purchase forms every 2 weeks via fax or
online through the appropriate state trip ticket reporting system.
South Atlantic golden crab, rock shrimp, and Atlantic dolphin-wahoo
dealers are required to submit dealer purchase forms on a monthly basis
via fax or online through the appropriate state trip ticket reporting
system. Reports are currently due 5 days after the end of each
reporting period.
If implemented, the Generic Dealer Amendment would require
federally permitted dealers to submit forms electronically (via
computer or internet) on a weekly basis. Dealer reports for trips
landing species between Sunday through Saturday would be required to be
submitted by 11:59 p.m., local time, the following Tuesday. In
addition, federally permitted dealers would be required to submit
records of no purchases electronically (via computer or internet) at
the same frequency and via the same process as records for purchases.
Dealer reports would be required to be submitted through the dealer
electronic trip ticket reporting system. Electronic reports are
currently authorized in each state, except for South Carolina, which
currently requires paper reporting. The data elements that would be
required through this Generic Dealer Amendment are consistent with the
information currently required by the state trip ticket programs.
This amendment would also stipulate that dealers who are delinquent
in submitting their reports are not authorized to receive fish from
federally-permitted vessels until they have submitted all reports on
purchases and no purchases.
This amendment would place new restrictions on certain dealers who
currently are not required to have a Federal dealer permit and on
certain fishermen who can currently sell to state dealers. Dealers who
first receive CMP fish and spiny lobster from federally permitted
commercial vessels or charter vessels/headboats, including federally
permitted shrimp vessels, would be required to have a Federal dealer
permit and would be required to report electronically on a weekly
basis. Federally permitted vessels that currently sell CMP fish and
spiny lobster to state dealers would be required to sell them to
federally permitted dealers.
A proposed rule that would implement the management measures
outlined in the Generic Dealer Amendment has been drafted. In
accordance with the Magnuson-Stevens Act, NMFS is evaluating the
proposed rule to determine whether it is consistent with the FMPs, the
Magnuson-Stevens Act, and other applicable laws. If the determination
is affirmative, NMFS will publish the proposed rule in the Federal
Register for public review and comment.
Consideration of Public Comments
The Councils submitted the Generic Dealer Amendment for Secretarial
review, approval, and implementation. NMFS' decision to approve,
partially approve, or disapprove the Amendment will be based, in part,
on consideration of comments, recommendations, and information received
during the comment period on this notice of availability.
Public comments received by 11:59 p.m. eastern time, on February
18, 2014, will be considered by NMFS in its decision to approve,
partially approve, or disapprove the Generic Dealer Amendment. All
comments received by NMFS on the Generic Dealer Amendment or the
proposed rule during their respective comment periods would be
addressed in a final rule.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
Dated: December 13, 2013.
Sean Corson,
Acting Deputy Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National
Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2013-30134 Filed 12-18-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P
