[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 65 (Wednesday, April 3, 1996)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 14735-14736]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-8178]



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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 646

[I.D. 032596D]


Snapper Grouper Fishery of the South Atlantic; Public Scoping 
Meeting

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

ACTION: Public scoping meeting.

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SUMMARY: The South Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council) is 
holding a public scoping meeting to solicit comments on the sale of 
fish (all species) caught under the recreational bag limits established 
by the Council's fishery management plans (FMPs). The public scoping 
meeting will be held in conjunction with the Council's public meetings 
to be held April 8-12, 1996.

DATES: The public scoping meeting is scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m. on 
Tuesday, April 9, 1996, and will end when all business is completed.

ADDRESSES: The public scoping meetings will be held at the Comfort Inn 
Island Suites, 711 Beachview Drive, Jekyll Island, GA; telephone: (912) 
635-2211.

[[Page 14736]]

    Requests for copies of the public scoping document should be sent 
to the Council at the following address: South Atlantic Fishery 
Management Council; One Southpark Circle, Suite 306; Charleston, SC 
29407-4699.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Susan Buchanan, Public Information 
Officer; telephone: (803) 571-4366; fax (803) 769-4520.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: At the scoping meeting, comments will be 
solicited on the sale of fish caught under the recreational bag limits 
for all species as established by the Council's FMPs. The Council has 
considered this issue on numerous occasions over the past several 
years, and both commercial and recreational fishermen have expressed 
concern about this matter. Currently, all of the Council's FMPs allow 
for the sale of fish taken in a legal bag limit. The issue regarding 
the sale of fish caught under bag limits involves several 
considerations including: (1) The definitions of recreational and 
commercial fisherman; (2) the ethical question of a ``recreational'' 
fisherman selling his catch; and (3) the impacts of selling fish caught 
under a recreational bag limit on an established commercial quota for 
the same species. The Council will consider prohibiting the sale of 
fish caught by recreational fishermen. The Council is inviting, and 
will consider, the views of recreational and commercial fishermen and 
other interested persons on this matter prior to taking any formal and 
final action. The Council is particularly interested in hearing about 
the possible impacts of prohibiting the sale of recreationally caught 
fish.
    Written public comments on the subject of the scoping meeting, as 
well as on any Council scoping documents made available to the public, 
may be submitted to the Council from the time of the scoping meeting 
until such time as the Council has prepared appropriate public hearing 
documents that are available for public comment. For copies of the 
public scoping documents, see ADDRESSES.
    These meetings are physically accessible to people with 
disabilities. Requests for sign language interpretation or other 
auxiliary aids should be directed to the Council office by April 3, 
1996, (see ADDRESSES).

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

    Dated: March 28, 1996.
Richard W. Surdi,
Acting Director, Office of Fisheries Conservation and Management, 
National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 96-8178 Filed 4-2-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-F