[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 230 (Tuesday, December 1, 1998)] [Proposed Rules] [Pages 66110-66111] From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov] [FR Doc No: 98-31996] ======================================================================= ----------------------------------------------------------------------- DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 50 CFR Part 648 [I.D. 111998B] Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Northeast Multispecies Fishery, Atlantic Sea Scallop Fishery, and Atlantic Salmon Fishery; Fishery Management Plan (FMP) Amendments to Designate Essential Fish Habitat (EFH)
Agency
National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
Action
Notice of availability of an omnibus amendment to FMPs; request for comments.
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Summary
NMFS announces that the New England Fishery Management Council (NEFMC) has submitted for review and approval by the Secretary of Commerce (Secretary) an omnibus amendment that includes Amendment 11 to the Northeast Multispecies FMP, Amendment 9 to the Atlantic Sea Scallop FMP, and Amendment 1 to the Atlantic Salmon FMP. The document also includes Amendment 1 to the Monkfish FMP prepared jointly by NEFMC and the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council (MAFMC). Because MAFMC has not yet adopted Monkfish Amendment 1, the FMP amendment is not being considered for Secretarial approval at this time. Finally, the omnibus amendment includes the EFH components of the
Atlantic Herring FMP that is being developed by the NEFMC. The EFH information for Atlantic Herring will be incorporated by reference into the Atlantic Herring FMP when that FMP is submitted for Secretarial approval. These EFH provisions implement the requirements of section 303(a)(7) of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act). The omnibus amendment describes and identifies EFH for the specified fisheries, discusses measures to address the effects of fishing on EFH, and identifies other actions for the conservation and enhancement of EFH. The amendment includes no new fishery management measures, so no regulations are proposed.
Dates
Public comments must be received on or before February 1, 1999.
Addresses
Comments on this amendment should be sent to Jon C. Rittgers, Acting Regional Administrator, One Blackburn Drive, Gloucester, MA 01930-2298. Please mark the outside of the envelope: ``Comments on Essential Fish Habitat Amendment.'' Copies of the amendment and the environmental assessment are available from the Executive Director, New England Fishery Management Council, 5 Broadway, Saugus, MA 01906-1036.
For Further Information Contact
Jonathan M. Kurland, Assistant Habitat Program Coordinator, 978-281-9204.
Supplementary Information
The Magnuson-Stevens Act requires that each Regional Fishery Management Council submit any FMP or FMP amendment it prepares to NMFS for review and approval, disapproval, or partial approval. The Magnuson-Stevens Act also requires that NMFS, upon receiving an FMP or FMP amendment, immediately publish a notice in the Federal Register that the FMP or amendment is available for public review and comment. Therefore, NMFS solicits comments on the approval, disapproval, or partial approval of these amendments. The portions of the omnibus EFH amendment that NMFS presently is considering for approval would designate EFH in waters of the United States for 14 species of groundfish, as well as Atlantic sea scallops and Atlantic salmon. The MAFMC has not yet adopted Monkfish Amendment 1. Once adopted, the NEFMC will submit Amendment 1 for Secretarial review and a notice of availability will be published in the Federal Register. The omnibus amendment also includes the EFH components of the Atlantic Herring FMP that is being developed by NEFMC. The EFH information for herring will be incorporated by reference into the Atlantic Herring FMP when that FMP is submitted for Secretarial review and a notice of availability will be published in the Federal Register. NMFS will consider approval, disapproval, or partial approval of Amendment 1 to the Monkfish FMP and the EFH components of the Atlantic Herring FMP separately after their submission by the NEFMC, following separate notices of availability. The omnibus amendment would also designate Habitat Areas of Particular Concern (HAPC) for Atlantic salmon and juvenile Atlantic cod in accordance with 50 CFR 600.815(a)(9). Although no new management measures are proposed for these HAPC, the Atlantic cod HAPC would be protected from potential adverse effects from fishing by maintaining the existing restrictions on fishing for the region known as Closed Area II on Georges Bank, pursuant to 50 CFR 648.81(b). In addition to the original rationale for implementing Closed Area II in 1994 (reducing overfishing of severely depleted groundfish stocks, as noted in the preamble to the emergency interim rule published in the Federal Register on December 12, 1994 (59 FR 63926)), under the omnibus amendment these management measures would be retained for habitat protection reasons. NMFS solicits comments on the approval, disapproval, or partial approval on Amendment 11 to the Northeast Multispecies FMP, Amendment 9 to the Atlantic Sea Scallop FMP, and Amendment 1 to the Atlantic Salmon FMP. To be considered, comments must be received by close of business on February 1, 1999; that does not mean postmarked or otherwise transmitted by that date.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
Dated: November 24, 1998. Bruce C. Morehead, Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. [FR Doc. 98-31996 Filed 11-30-98; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 3510-22-F