[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 181 (Tuesday, September 19, 1995)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 48497-48498]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-23149]



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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 658

[I.D. 091295B]


Shrimp 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 (Council) has submitted Amendment 8 to the Fishery Management 
Plan for the Shrimp Fishery of the Gulf of Mexico (FMP) for review by 
NMFS. Written comments are requested from the public.

DATES: Written comments must be received on or before November 13, 
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 and a regulatory impact review, 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: Michael E. Justen, 813-570-5305.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Magnuson Fishery Conservation and 
Management Act (Magnuson Act), requires that a council-prepared 
amendment to a fishery management 

[[Page 48498]]
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 notice that the amendment 
is available for public review and comment.
    Amendment 8 proposes to establish a framework rulemaking procedure 
for establishing or modifying the maximum sustainable yield (MSY), 
optimum yield (OY), and total allowable catch (TAC) for royal red 
shrimp harvested from the exclusive economic zone of the Gulf of 
Mexico. That procedure would authorize the Council to recommend, and 
NMFS to approve and implement, TAC for royal red shrimp no higher than 
MSY plus 30 percent for a test period of up to 2 consecutive years. 
This action will allow for testing the response of the resource to a 
controlled increase in fishing effort and to obtain additional 
management data on the royal red shrimp resource for refining estimates 
of MSY and OY.
    Proposed regulations to implement Amendment 8 are scheduled for 
publication within 15 days.

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

    Dated: September 13, 1995.
Richard W. Surdi,
Acting Director, Office of Fisheries Conservation and Management. 
National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 95-23149 Filed 9-14-95; 12:25 pm]
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