[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 161 (Monday, August 19, 1996)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Page 42828]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-21013]



[[Page 42828]]

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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 622

[I.D. 070296D]


Reef Fish Fishery of the Gulf of Mexico; Amendment 12

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 12 to the Fishery Management 
Plan for the Reef Fish Resources of the Gulf of Mexico for review, 
approval, and implementation by NMFS. Written comments are requested 
from the public.

DATES: Written comments must be received on or before October 3, 1996.

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 12, 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, phone: 813-228-2815; 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.
    Amendment 12 would reduce the minimum size limit for red snapper 
harvested in the commercial fishery from 15 inches (38.1 cm) to 14 
inches (35.6 cm) and eliminate the scheduled, automatic increase to 16 
inches (40.6 cm) for the commercial fishery in 1998; establish a 
minimum size limit of 28 inches (71.1 cm) fork length for banded 
rudderfish and lesser amberjack taken under the bag limits; establish a 
bag limit for banded rudderfish, greater amberjack, and lesser 
amberjack, combined, of one fish; and establish a 20-fish aggregate bag 
limit for reef fish species for which there is no other bag limit.
    Based on a preliminary evaluation of Amendment 12, NMFS has 
disapproved the proposed size limit reduction and the future, automatic 
size increase for red snapper harvested in the commercial fishery, 
because NMFS determined that those measures were inconsistent with the 
Magnuson Act and the agency's policy of risk-averse decisionmaking.
    Proposed regulations to implement the measures of Amendment 12 that 
were not disapproved based on the preliminary evaluations are scheduled 
to be published for public comment.

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

    Dated: August 13, 1996.
Richard W. Surdi,
Acting Director, Office of Fisheries Conservation and Management, 
National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 96-21013 Filed 8-13-96; 4:45 pm]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P