[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 145 (Tuesday, July 29, 1997)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 40497-40498]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-19847]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 679
[I.D. 072297A]
RIN: 0648-AJ71
Amendment 49 to the Fishery Management Plan for Groundfish
Fishery of the Gulf of Alaska
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: The North Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) has
submitted Amendment 49 to the Fishery Management Plan for Groundfish of
the Gulf of Alaska for Secretarial review. Amendment 49 would require
all vessels fishing for groundfish in the Gulf of Alaska (GOA) to
retain all
[[Page 40498]]
pollock and Pacific cod beginning January 1, 1998, and all shallow-
water flatfish beginning January 1, 2003. Amendment 49 also would
establish minimum utilization standards for all at-sea processors--for
pollock and Pacific cod beginning January 1, 1998, and for shallow-
water flatfish beginning January 1, 2003. Comments from the public are
requested.
DATES: Comments on Amendment 49 must be submitted on or before
September 29, 1997.
ADDRESSES: Comments on Amendment 49 should be submitted to Ronald J.
Berg, Chief, Fisheries Management Division, Alaska Region, NMFS, P.O.
Box 21668, Juneau, AK 99802-1668, Attn: Lori Gravel, or delivered to
the Federal Building, 709 West 9th. Street, Juneau, AK. Copies of
Amendment 49 and the Environmental Assessment/Regulatory Impact Review/
Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis prepared for the amendment are
available from NMFS at the above address, or by calling the Alaska
Region, NMFS, at 907-586-7228.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kent Lind, 907-586-7228.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation
and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act) requires that each Regional
Fishery Management Council submit any fishery management plan (FMP) or
plan amendment it prepares to NMFS for review and approval,
disapproval, or partial approval. The Magnuson-Stevens Act also
requires that NMFS, upon receiving an FMP or amendment, immediately
publish a document announcing that the FMP or amendment is available
for public review and comment. NMFS will consider the public comments
received during the comment period in determining whether to approve
the FMP or amendment.
Amendment 49 is the result of over 3 years of specific discussions
and analyses of alternative solutions to the discard problem occurring
in the groundfish fisheries off Alaska. The expressed intent of the
Council is to implement a program that ``would provide an incentive for
fishermen to avoid unwanted catch, increase utilization of fish that
are taken, and thus reduce discards of whole fish.'' While such
discards are counted against the overall total allowable catch
established for each species and do not represent a direct biological
concern, they do represent foregone harvest opportunities for other
fishing operations which might otherwise target and utilize those fish.
In addition, high levels of discards represent an important social
policy issue, which the fishing industry and the Council feel the
necessity to address.
In September 1996, after extensive debate and public testimony, the
Council adopted an Improved Retention/Improved Utilization (IR/IU)
program as Amendment 49 to the FMP for the Groundfish Fishery in the
Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Area (BSAI). A proposed rule to
implement Amendment 49 in the BSAI was published in the Federal
Register on June 26, 1997 (62 FR 34429). In June 1997, the Council
adopted a parallel IR/IU program as Amendment 49 for the GOA. The
retention requirement adopted by the Council for the GOA would require
full retention of pollock and Pacific cod beginning January 1, 1998,
and full retention of shallow-water flatfish beginning January 1, 2003.
The utilization requirement adopted by the Council would require that
the above species either be (1) processed at sea subject to minimum
recovery rates and/or requirements to be specified by regulation, or
(2) delivered in their entirety to onshore processing plants for which
similar minimum requirements are to be implemented through state
regulations.
NMFS will consider the public comments received during the comment
period in determining whether to approve Amendment 49. A proposed rule
to implement Amendment 49 is scheduled to be published within 15 days
of this document.
Dated: July 23, 1997.
Bruce C. Morehead,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 97-19847 Filed 7-28-97; 8:45 am]
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