[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 59 (Thursday, March 27, 1997)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 14651-14652]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-7715]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
50 CFR Part 679

[Docket No. 961107312-7021-02; I.D. 032097A]


Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone Off Alaska; Yellowfin 
Sole by Vessels Using Trawl Gear in 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 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 first 
seasonal apportionment of the 1997 Pacific halibut bycatch allowance 
specified for the trawl yellowfin sole fishery category.

EFFECTIVE DATE: 1200 hrs, Alaska local time (A.l.t.), March 22, 1997, 
through 1200 hrs, A.l.t., April 1, 1997.

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-Stevens 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 first seasonal apportionment of the 1997 halibut bycatch 
allowance specified for the trawl yellowfin sole fishery in the BSAI, 
which is defined at Sec. 679.21(e)(3)(iv)(B)(1), was established by the 
Final 1997 Harvest Specifications of Groundfish for the BSAI (62 FR 
7168, February 18, 1997) as 210 mt.
    In accordance with Sec. 679.21(e)(7)(iv), the Administrator, Alaska 
Region, NMFS, has determined that the first seasonal apportionment of 
the 1997 halibut bycatch allowance specified for the trawl yellowfin 
sole fishery in the BSAI has been caught. Consequently, 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. 679.20(e) and (f).

[[Page 14652]]

Classification

    This action is required by 50 CFR 679.21 and is exempt from review 
under E.O. 12866.

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

    Dated: March 20, 1997.
Bruce Morehead,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 97-7715 Filed 3-21-97; 4:50 pm]
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