# 61 FR 38430: Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Amendment 9 to the Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass Fishery Management Plan > Federal · Regulations · In force URL: https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/FR_PRORULE_96-18699 ## Section - **Citation:** 61 FR 38430 - **Heading:** Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Amendment 9 to the Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass Fishery Management Plan - **Jurisdiction:** Federal - **Kind:** Regulations - **Status:** In force - **Text as of:** August 14, 2026 - **Source:** Compiled text - **Location:** Federal Register / Vol. 61 / 61 FR 38430 ## Text DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 50 CFR Part 648 [I.D. 071596E] Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Amendment 9 to the Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass Fishery Management Plan AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce. ACTION: Notice of availability and request for comments. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- SUMMARY: NMFS issues this notice to advise that the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council) has submitted Amendment 9 to the Fishery Management Plan for the Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass Fisheries (FMP) for Secretarial review and is requesting comments from the public. Amendment 9 would initiate management measures for the black sea bass fishery. DATES: Comments must be received on or before September 12, 1996. ADDRESSES: Send comments to Dr. Andrew A. Rosenberg, Regional Director, NMFS, Northeast Regional Office, One Blackburn Drive, Gloucester, MA 01930-3799. Mark the outside of the envelope ``Comments on the Black Sea Bass Fishery.'' Copies of proposed Amendment 9, its Regulatory Impact Review (RIR) and the Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis contained within the RIR, and the Final Environmental Impact Statement are available from David R. Keifer, Executive Director, Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council, Room 2115 Federal Building, 300 S. New Street, Dover, DE 19904-6790. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Regina L. Spallone, Fishery Policy Analyst, 508-281-9221. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Magnuson Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson Act) (16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.) requires that each regional fishery management council submit any fishery management plan or amendment it prepares to the Secretary of Commerce (Secretary) for review and approval or disapproval. The Magnuson Act also requires that the Secretary, upon receiving the plan or amendment for review, immediately make a preliminary evaluation of whether the amendment is sufficient to warrant continued review, and publish a notice that the plan or amendment is available for public review and comment. The Secretary will consider the public comments in determining whether to approve the plan or amendment. Amendment 9, if approved, would revise the FMP to institute management measures for the black sea bass fishery. Such measures would allow the black sea bass (Centropristis striata) resource to rebuild over a 7-year period. The black sea bass resource is overfished. Proposed management measures include: Dealer, charter/party vessel, and operator permits; moratorium vessel permits for the directed commercial fishery; a requirement that permitted vessels may sell only to permitted dealers; mandatory reporting for permitted vessels and dealers; escape vents on black sea bass pots or traps; degradable hinges and fasteners in pots or traps; maximum size for rollers used in roller rig trawl gear; minimum fish sizes for the commercial and recreational fisheries; minimum codend mesh requirements when possessing more than a threshold level of black sea bass on board; and a mechanism to enable the Council to establish special management zones around artificial reef areas. A framework process would also allow annual adjustment of the minimum fish size, escape vent size, and mesh requirements. In 1998 and beyond, the Council also proposed to implement a coastwide recreational harvest limit, a state by state commercial quota to reduce fishing mortality, and a provision to allow for the respecification of the manner in which the commercial quota is allocated (e.g. coastwide, rather than state by state). NMFS, on behalf of the Secretary, disapproved the state by state commercial quota in Amendment 9 before publishing this notice of availability as authorized under section 304(a)(1)(A) of the Magnuson Act. Day 1 of Amendment 9 is July 15, 1996. Proposed regulations to implement this amendment are scheduled to be published within 15 days of this date. Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq. Dated: July 18, 1996. Richard W. Surdi, Acting Director, Office of Fisheries Conservation and Management, National Marine Fisheries Service. 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