[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 218 (Friday, November 8, 1996)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Page 57781]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-28808]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
50 CFR Part 679

[Docket No. 960129019-6019-01; I.D. 110496B]


Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone Off Alaska; Pacific Cod 
by Vessels Using Hook-and-Line Gear in the Bering Sea and Aleutian 
Islands

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

ACTION: Closure.

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SUMMARY: NMFS is closing directed fishing for Pacific cod by vessels 
using hook-and-line gear in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands 
management area (BSAI). This action is necessary because the 1996 
Pacific halibut bycatch mortality allowance apportioned to the Pacific 
cod hook-and-line fishery in the BSAI has been reached.

EFFECTIVE DATE: 1200 hrs, Alaska local time (A.l.t.), November 5, 1996, 
until 2400 hrs, A.l.t., December 31, 1996.

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 subpart H of 50 CFR part 600 and 50 CFR part 679.
    The 1996 Pacific halibut bycatch mortality allowance for the hook-
and-line Pacific cod fishery, which is defined at 
Sec. 679.21(e)(4)(ii)(A), is 800 mt (61 FR 4311, February 5, 1996).
    The Administrator (formerly ``Director''), Alaska Region, NMFS, has 
determined, in accordance with Sec. 679.21(e)(8), that U.S. fishing 
vessels participating in the Pacific cod hook-and-line fishery in the 
BSAI have caught the 1966 Pacific halibut bycatch mortality allowance. 
Therefore, NMFS is closing directed fishing for Pacific cod by vessels 
using hook-and-line gear in the BSAI.
    This action is taken under Sec. 679.20 and is exempt from review 
under E.O. 12866.

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

    Dated: November 4, 1996.
Gary Matlock,
Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries 
Service.
[FR Doc. 96-28808 Filed 11-05-96; 3:53 pm]
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