South Atlantic Fishery Management Council; Meetings and Hearings

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR 638, 642, and 659

[I.D. 082994D]

South Atlantic Fishery Management Council; Meetings and Hearings

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of public meeting, public hearings, and public scoping

meeting; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The South Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council) is

holding public hearings to solicit comments on coral-related issues and

on developing regulations for the rock shrimp fishery. A public scoping

meeting will be held to solicit comments on controlled access options

for Atlantic Spanish mackerel in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) and

on proposed Amendment 8 to the Fishery Management Plan for Coastal

Migratory Pelagic Resources of the Gulf of Mexico and South Atlantic

(FMP).

DATES: Written comments on the coral-related issues and on rock shrimp

regulations must be received by October 3, 1994. Written comments on

controlled access options for Atlantic Spanish mackerel and on proposed

Amendment 8 to the FMP must be received by October 3, 1994. See

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION for times and dates of public hearings and

meetings.

ADDRESSES: Send written comments to Robert K. Mahood, Executive

Director, South Atlantic Fishery Management Council, One Southpark

Circle, Suite 306, Charleston, SC 29407-4699 (FAX: 803-769-4520). See

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION for locations of hearings and meetings.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Carrie Knight, Public Information

Officer, South Atlantic Fishery Management Council, 803-571-4366.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Public hearings will be held to solicit

comments on coral-related issues concerning aquaculture of live rock

and octocoral harvest in the South Atlantic EEZ and on the effects of

anchoring vessels in the Oculina Bank habitat area of particular

concern (HAPC). The Oculina Bank HAPC has been designated recently as

an experimental closed area to snapper-grouper fishing and encompasses

a 23 by 4 nautical mile strip located approximately 15 nautical miles

offshore at its nearest point in the vicinity of Fort Pierce, FL. The

Council's Coral Advisory Panel is scheduled to meet on Saturday,

September 24, 1994, Banana Bay, 4590 Overseas Highway, Marathon, FL, to

discuss these topics. The public hearings will be held from 7 p.m. to

10 p.m. and are scheduled on the following dates at the following

locations:

1. Monday, September 19, 1994--Holiday Inn Midtown, 7100 Abercorn

Street, Savannah, GA.

2. Thursday, September 22, 1994--Brazilian Court, 301 Australian

Avenue, Palm Beach, FL.

3. Friday, September 23, 1994--Banana Bay, 4590 Overseas Highway,

Marathon, FL.

The Council is holding public hearings to solicit comments on

developing regulations for the rock shrimp fishery. The main focus will

be on area restrictions to prevent habitat damage, controlling effort

through possible license limitation, and exploring shared management

with the industry. The hearings on rock shrimp will be held from 7 p.m.

to 10 p.m. and are scheduled on the following dates at the following

locations:

1. Tuesday, September 20, 1994--Ponce de Leon Golf and Resort, 4000

U.S. 1 North, St. Augustine, FL.

2. Wednesday, September 21, 1994--Holiday Inn, 1300 N. Atlantic

Avenue, Cocoa Beach, FL.

A public scoping meeting will be held to solicit comments on

controlled access options for the Atlantic Spanish mackerel fishery in

the South Atlantic EEZ and on proposed Amendment 8 to the FMP. The

Council is considering the following options for controlling access

into the Atlantic Spanish mackerel fishery: (1) no action; (2)

community or group-based quotas; (3) territorial use rights (TURFs);

(4) effort-limit controls; (5) license limitation; (6) individual

transferable quotas (ITQs); (7) ITQs with a period during which no

share sales are allowed; (8) ITQs with modifications such as

restrictions on sale, requirements for use, ownership caps, and other

possible modifications; (9) ITQs with provisional license limitation

period; and (10) nontransferable individual quotas. The Council is also

considering the following options for proposed Amendment 8 to the FMP:

(1) commercial trip limits for Atlantic king mackerel; (2) Federal

dealer permits for coastal pelagics; (3) extend management of cobia

through the Mid-Atlantic region and review cobia trip limits; (4) allow

transfer at sea of Spanish mackerel; (5) determine a fixed boundary

between Gulf and South Atlantic stocks of king mackerel; (6) develop

alternative requirements for obtaining a coastal pelagics permit, i.e.,

income, threshold level, age, etc.; (7) limit vessels to one net with a

maximum length of 600 yards and one hour soak time along either the

Florida coast or the entire management range; (8) changes the

recreational/commercial allocation of Atlantic group Spanish mackerel;

and (9) add African pompano to the management unit. The public scoping

meeting on controlled access options for Atlantic Spanish mackerel and

on proposed Amendment 8 to the FMP will be held from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m.

on Wednesday, September 28, 1994, at the Holiday Inn-Sunshine Parkway,

7151 Okeechobee Road, Fort Pierce, FL.

The Council will also solicit additional public comments on coral-

related issues, rock shrimp regulations, controlled access options for

Atlantic Spanish mackerel, and proposed Amendment 8 to the FMP during

its October 24-28, 1994, meeting at the Holiday Inn, 1706 N. Lumina

Avenue, Wrightsville Beach, NC. Specific meeting times will be

advertised at a later date.

These meetings are physically accessible to people with

disabilities. Requests for sign language interpretation or other

auxiliary aids should be directed to Carrie Knight at the above Council

address by September 12, 1994.

Dated: September 1, 1994.

David S. Crestin,

Acting Director, Office of Fisheries Conservation and Management,

National Marine Fisheries Service.

[FR Doc. 94-22060 Filed 9-7-94; 8:45 am]

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