[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 63 (Wednesday, April 2, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Page 15659]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-8364]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
[I.D. 022497A]
Fisheries Bycatch Plan
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Notice of availability; request for comments.
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SUMMARY: NMFS announces the availability of and seeks public comment on
the draft NMFS bycatch plan, Managing the Nation's Bycatch: Priorities,
Programs and Actions for the National Marine Fisheries Service. The
NMFS bycatch plan will guide the agency's bycatch-related research and
management for the next decade. Any written comments received will be
considered by NMFS in the adoption and implementation of the final
bycatch plan.
DATES: Written comments will be accepted on or before May 19, 1997.
ADDRESSES: Requests for copies of the NMFS bycatch plan should be
directed to the NMFS Office of Science and Technology, 1315 East-West
Highway, Silver Spring, MD. 20910. PHONE:(301)713-2363. FAX: (301)713-
1875. The NMFS bycatch plan is also available in its entirety on the
Internet at http://kingfish.ssp.nmfs.gov/.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: John F. Witzig, 508-495-2305.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
Interest in bycatch in the Nation's fisheries has received
increased attention in the last decade. During this time, NMFS and its
constituents have come to agree that fisheries bycatch is an issue of
great concern to those interested in sustainable fisheries and marine
ecosystems. Congress has emphasized NMFS' responsibility to address
bycatch in the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management
Act, the Marine Mammal Protection Act, and the Endangered Species Act.
Following a series of public symposia and workshops with industry, the
conservation community, scientists, Native Alaskan groups, and others,
NMFS undertook development of a national bycatch plan. The NMFS bycatch
plan will be used as a blueprint for the agency's bycatch-related
research and management for the next decade.
In the development of the plan, NMFS conducted a survey of
available information on bycatch in the Nation's fisheries and efforts
to understand and manage the issue. The survey, which is included in
the bycatch plan, is intended to update information previously compiled
elsewhere, and to serve as a benchmark from which to judge future
efforts in data collection and management efforts to mitigate negative
effects of bycatches.
Issues in each of NMFS' administrative regions and on the national
level are addressed in detail in the NMFS bycatch plan. This discussion
forms the basis for a set of research and management recommendations
that will help guide the agency's bycatch-related activities. Broadly,
recommendations in the plan address the acquisition of bycatch data,
gear technology and selectivity research, the effects of bycatch,
research on individual incentive programs to manage bycatch,
development and implementation of conservation and management measures
to address bycatch, and information exchange and cooperative
management.
Request for Comments
NMFS intends that the final version of the bycatch plan will take
advantage of information and recommendations from all interested
parties. Therefore, comments and suggestions are hereby solicited from
the public, other concerned governmental agencies, the scientific
community, industry, and any other person concerned with this draft
NMFS Bycatch Plan.
Dated: March 26, 1997.
Rolland A. Schmitten,
Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries
Service.
[FR Doc. 97-8364 Filed 4-1-97; 8:45 am]
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