Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Atlantic Sea Scallop Fishery; Petition for Rulemaking

摘要

NMFS responds to a NMFS announces its decision not to undertake the rulemaking requested in a Petition for Rulemaking (Petition) submitted by the Fisheries Survival Fund (FSF) and the Garden State Seafood Association (GSSA) (Petitioners) , that requesteding that that NMFS develop and implement an emergency rule pursuant to the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act) to require specific modifications to the fishing gear used by Atlantic sea scallop vessels fishing south of Long Island and north of Cape Hatteras from May 1 through October 15. The gear modifications requested are the installation of a chain mesh configuration ("turtle chains") in dredge gear and the installation of effective turtle excluder devices (TEDs) in trawl gear. The Petitioners proposed that these measures should be required for any Atlantic sea scallop vessel, whether fishing under a Limited Access or General Category permit, to prevent the incidental capture of sea turtles. NMFS announces that it will conduct rulemaking under the authority of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) to enact measures by May 2005 to address incidental sea turtle takes in the Atlantic sea scallo