[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 23 (Friday, February 2, 1996)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 3851-3852]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-2145]



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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 229

[Docket No. 950605147-5288-03; I.D. 112895A]
RIN 0648-AH33


Delay of the Effective Date of the 1996 Marine Mammal Protection 
Act Final List of Fisheries

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

ACTION: Final rule; delay of effective date.

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SUMMARY: NMFS published its Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 (MMPA) 
final List of Fisheries (LOF) for 1996 on December 28, 1995. In that 
rule, the effective period for the 1995 LOF was extended until March 1, 
1996. The recent government shutdown delayed NMFS from mailing out 
registration packets to commercial fishers for the Marine Mammal 
Authorization Program. Therefore, NMFS is delaying the effective date 
of the 1996 final LOF from March 1, 1996 to April 1, 1996.

EFFECTIVE DATE: February 2, 1996. The effective date of the MMPA final 
LOF for 1996 is delayed from March 1, 1996 to April 1, 1996.

ADDRESSES: Information and registration material for the region in 
which a fishery occurs may be obtained from the following addresses: 
NMFS, Northeast Region, One Blackburn Drive, Gloucester, MA 01930-2298, 
Attn: Sandra Arvilla; NMFS, Southeast Region, 9721 Executive Center 
Drive North, St. Petersburg, FL 33702; NMFS, MMAP, Protected Species 
Management Division, 501 W. Ocean Blvd., Suite 4200, Long Beach, CA 
90802-4213; NMFS, Northwest Region, 7600 Sand Point Way NE, Seattle, WA 
98115, Attn: Permits Office; NMFS - PMRD, P.O. Box 22668, 709 West 9th 
Street, Juneau, AK 99082.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Victoria Cornish, Office of Protected 
Resources, 301-713-2322; Douglas Beach, Northeast Region, 508-281-9254; 
Charles Oravetz, Southeast Region, 813-570-5312; James Lecky, Southwest 
Region, 310-980-4015; Brent Norberg, Northwest Region, 206-526-6140; 
Steven Zimmerman, Alaska Region, 907-586-7235.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    In accordance with section 118 of the MMPA of 1972, and 50 CFR 
229.4, 

[[Page 3852]]
commercial fishers in Category I and II fisheries must register with 
NMFS for authorization to seriously injure or kill marine mammals 
incidental to fishing operations. On December 28, 1995, NMFS published 
its MMPA final List of Fisheries (LOF) for 1996 (60 FR 67063), which 
classified fisheries according to frequency of serious injury or 
mortality of marine mammals. The preamble to the final regulations 
implementing section 118 (60 FR 45086, August 30, 1995) stated that 
vessel owners holding a valid Exemption Certificate under section 114 
will be deemed by NMFS to have registered under section 118 through 
December 31, 1995. Because it took longer than expected to publish the 
MMPA final LOF for 1996, NMFS extended the MMPA LOF for 1995 to remain 
in effect until March 1, 1996 (60 FR 67063, December 28, 1995). Vessel 
owners holding a valid Exemption Certificate under section 114 were 
deemed to have registered under section 118 until March 1, 1996. The 
extension was intended to allow vessel owners sufficient time to 
register under section 118 of the MMPA.
    The recent government shutdown delayed NMFS from mailing 
registration packets to commercial fishers for the Marine Mammal 
Authorization Program. Therefore, NMFS is extending the effective date 
of the 1996 LOF from March 1, 1996 to April 1, 1996. In conjunction 
with this action, NMFS is extending the effective period for the 1995 
LOF through March 31, 1996, and vessel owners holding a valid Exemption 
Certificate under section 114 will be deemed to have registered under 
section 118 through March 31, 1996. Owners or authorized 
representatives of fishing vessels or non-vessel fishing gear that will 
participate in a Category I or II fishery as of April 1, 1996 must 
register for and obtain a valid section 118 Authorization Certificate 
before April 1, 1996. Owners or authorized representatives of fishing 
vessels or non-vessel fishing gear that will participate in a Category 
I or II fishery after April 1, 1996 must register for and obtain a 
valid section 118 Authorization Certificate before fishing activity 
starts.
    NMFS expects to mail registration packets to commercial fishers 
during the second week of February, 1996. Commercial fishers who plan 
to participate in Category I and II fisheries during the spring of 1996 
should submit their completed registration forms and $25 fee to NMFS by 
March 1, 1996 to allow NMFS at least 30 days to process the forms. 
Commercial fishers who will be participating in affected fisheries that 
begin later in the year should submit their completed registration form 
and $25 fee at least 30 days before they expect to begin fishing.

    Dated: January 26, 1996.
Gary Matlock,
Program Management Officer, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 96-2145 Filed 2-1-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-F