[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 140 (Friday, July 21, 1995)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 37623-37624]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-17922]



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[[Page 37624]]


DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 641

[I.D. 071395A]


Reef Fish Fishery of the Gulf of Mexico; Amendment 8

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of availability of an amendment to a fishery management 
plan; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: NMFS announces that the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management 
Council has submitted Amendment 8 to the Fishery Management Plan for 
the Reef Fish Resources of the Gulf of Mexico (FMP) for review, 
approval, and implementation by NMFS. Written comments are requested 
from the public.

DATES: Written comments must be received on or before September 15, 
1995.

ADDRESSES: Comments must be mailed to the Southeast Regional Office, 
NMFS, 9721 Executive Center Drive N., St. Petersburg, FL 33702.
    Requests for copies of Amendment 8, which includes an environmental 
assessment, a regulatory impact review, and an initial regulatory 
flexibility analysis, and for copies of a minority report submitted by 
three members of the Council, should be sent to the Gulf of Mexico 
Fishery Management Council, 5401 W. Kennedy Boulevard, Suite 331, 
Tampa, FL 33609-2486, FAX: 813-225-7015.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Robert Sadler, 813-570-5305.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Magnuson Fishery Conservation and 
Management Act (Magnuson Act), requires that a council-prepared 
amendment to a fishery management plan be submitted to NMFS for review 
and approval, disapproval, or partial disapproval. The Magnuson Act 
also requires that NMFS, upon receiving an amendment, immediately 
publish a document that the amendment is available for public review 
and comment.
    Amendment 8 to the FMP proposes a limited entry program for the 
commercial red snapper sector of the reef fish fishery in the Gulf of 
Mexico. Initial participants in the limited entry program would receive 
shares of the commercial quota of red snapper based on specified 
criteria. The percentage shares of the commercial quota would be 
equivalent to individual transferable quotas.
    The Director, Southeast Region, NMFS, based on a preliminary 
evaluation of Amendment 8, has disapproved three amendment measures 
because the measures were determined to be inconsistent with the 
Magnuson Act and other applicable law. The disapproved measures 
included: (1) An appeals panel to consider hardships in determining 
eligibility for and amount of initial shares; (2) a provision that up 
to 3 percent of the initial commercial allocation of red snapper be set 
aside for resolving hardship cases; and (3) a restriction that transfer 
of shares be limited to ``natural persons,'' thus precluding 
corporations or partnerships from obtaining shares.
    A minority report signed by three Council members raised various 
objections to Amendment 8.
    Proposed regulations to implement those measures of Amendment 8 
that were not disapproved based on the preliminary evaluation are 
scheduled for publication within 15 days.

    Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.

    Dated: July 17, 1995.
Richard W. Surdi,
Acting Director, Office of Fisheries Conservation and Management, 
National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 95-17922 Filed 7-17-95; 4:31 pm]
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