Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council; Public Hearings

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 648

(I.D. 073099E)

Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council; Public Hearings

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

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.

ACTION: Public hearings, request for comments.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council will hold public

hearings to allow for input on its Draft Tilefish Fishery Management

Plan (FMP) and the Draft Environmental Assessment and Draft Regulatory

Impact Review for this FMP. This FMP is designed to eliminate

overfishing and rebuild the tilefish resource to the biomass that would

support maximum sustainable yield (MSY) through a constant harvest

strategy within a 10-year rebuilding period.

DATES: Written comments will be accepted through September 7, 1999. See

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION for dates and times.

ADDRESSES: Send comments to Daniel T. Furlong, Executive Director, Mid-

Atlantic Fishery Management Council, 300 S. New Street, Dover, DE

19904.

The hearings will be held in Rhode Island, New York and New Jersey.

See SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION for locations of the hearings.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Daniel T. Furlong, Executive Director

of the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management, 302-674-2331, ext. 19.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

This FMP is proposed to eliminate overfishing and rebuild the

tilefish resource to the biomass that would support the MSY through a

constant harvest strategy within a 10-year rebuilding period. The

projection associated with the preferred alternative would allow for

total allowable landings of 1.76 million lb (798 mt) with a 50 percent

probability of achieving the biomass target at the end of 10 years. The

default alternative assumes a total allowable level of catch of 1.412

million lb (640 mt) with a 75 percent probability of reaching the

target biomass at the end of 10 years. Commercial quotas and a time

period closure are included as options in the FMP. The commercial quota

would be divided into full-time, part-time, and incidental categories.

A limited access program would be applied to the full-time and part-

time quota categories.

The Council established a control date for the possible limitations

of entrants into this fishery of June 15, 1993, published at 58 FR

33081, June 15, 1993. The Council's preferred alternative for the full-

time category would require that a vessel had landed more than 50,000

lb (22.68 mt) in any 1 year between 1988 and 1993 as well as landed at

least 25,000 lb (11.34 mt) per year for any 2 years between 1994 and

1998. To qualify as a part-time participant, the preferred option

indicates that a vessel had to land at least 10,000 lb (4.536 mt) in

any year between 1988 and June 15, 1993. The preferred alternative

would add a closure to the directed (part-time and full-time vessels)

tilefish fishery for a 1 calendar month period from May through

September.

Recreational fisheries management measures are addressed in the FMP

as framework measures, so that no specific measures are proposed for

implementation immediately upon approval of the FMP. Identification and

description of essential tilefish habitat are included in the FMP as

are management measures to minimize adverse gear impacts to that

habitat. The preferred alternative to minimize adverse gear impacts is

to prohibit directed tilefish fishing with bottom tending mobile gear

and require that gear fishing in statistical areas 616 and 537 between

bottom depths of 300 and 850 ft (91 and 259 m) must be modified to

reduce impacts on bottom habitat.

Hearings

The dates, times and locations of the hearings are scheduled as

follows:

1. Monday, August 23, 1999, 7:00-10:00 p.m. - Crown Plaza at the

Crossings (old Holiday Inn), 801 Greenwich Avenue, Warwick, RI,

telephone 401-732-6000.

2. Tuesday, August 24, 1999, 7:00-10:00 p.m. - Ramada Inn, Exit 72,

Long Island Espressway & Route 25, Riverhead, NY, telephone 516-369-

2200.

3. Wednesday, August 25, 1999, 7:00-10:00 p.m. - Sheraton Atlantic

City West, 6841 Black Horse Pike (Route 40), Atlantic City West, NJ,

telephone 609-272-0200.

The hearings will be tape recorded with the tapes filed as the

official transcript of the hearings.

Special Accommodations

These hearings are physically accessible to people with

disabilities. Requests for sign language interpretation or other

auxiliary aids should be directed to Joanna Davis at the Mid-Atlantic

Council at least 5 days prior to the hearing date.

Dated: August 3, 1999.

Bruce C. Morehead,

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine

Fisheries Service.

[FR Doc. 99-20434 Filed 8-6-99; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510-22-F