[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 197 (Thursday, October 12, 1995)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Page 53147]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-25275]



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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
50 CFR Part 675

[Docket No. 950206040-5040-01; I.D. 100695A]


Groundfish of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Area; Yellowfin 
Sole in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Management Area

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

ACTION: Closure.

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SUMMARY: NMFS is closing the directed fishery for yellowfin sole by 
vessels using trawl gear in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands 
management area (BSAI). This action is necessary to prevent exceeding 
the second seasonal bycatch allowance of Pacific halibut apportioned to 
the trawl yellowfin sole fishery category in the BSAI.

EFFECTIVE DATE: 12 noon, Alaska local time (A.l.t.), October 8, 1995, 
until 12 midnight, A.l.t., December 31, 1995.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mary Furuness, 907-586-7228.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The groundfish fishery in the BSAI exclusive 
economic zone is managed by NMFS according to the Fishery Management 
Plan for the Groundfish Fishery of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands 
Area (FMP) prepared by the North Pacific Fishery Management Council 
under authority of the Magnuson Fishery Conservation and Management 
Act. Fishing by U.S. vessels is governed by regulations implementing 
the FMP at 50 CFR parts 620 and 675.
    The second seasonal bycatch allowance of Pacific halibut for the 
BSAI trawl yellowfin sole fishery, which is defined at 
Sec. 675.21(b)(1)(iii)(B)(1), was established as 470 metric tons (mt) 
by the Final 1995 Harvest Specifications of Groundfish (60 FR 8479, 
February 14, 1995).
    The Director, Alaska Region, NMFS, has determined, in accordance 
with Sec. 675.21(c)(1)(iii), that the second seasonal bycatch allowance 
of Pacific halibut apportioned to the trawl yellowfin sole fishery in 
the BSAI has been caught. Therefore, NMFS is prohibiting directed 
fishing for yellowfin sole by vessels using trawl gear in the BSAI.
    Maximum retainable bycatch amounts for applicable gear types may be 
found in the regulations at Sec. 675.20(h).

Classification

    This action is taken under 50 CFR 675.20 and is exempt from review 
under E.O. 12866.

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

    Dated: October 6, 1995.
Richard W. Surdi,
Acting Director, Office of Fisheries Conservation and Management, 
National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 95-25275 Filed 10-6-95; 3:36 pm]
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