[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 46 (Tuesday, March 10, 1998)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 11629-11630]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-6136]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 679

[I.D. 030298A]


Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone Off Alaska; Sablefish 
Managed under the IFQ Program

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

ACTION: Fishing season dates.

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SUMMARY: NMFS announces the opening of directed fishing for sablefish 
with fixed gear managed under the Individual Fishing Quota (IFQ) 
program. The season will open on 1200 hrs, Alaska local time (A.l.t.), 
March 15, 1998, and will close 1200 hrs, A.l.t., November 15, 1998. 
This period runs concurrently with the IFQ season for Pacific halibut 
announced by the International Pacific Halibut Commission (IPHC). The 
IFQ halibut season will be announced by publication in the Federal 
Register.

DATES: Effective March 15, 1998, 1200 hrs, A.l.t., until 1200 hrs, 
A.l.t., November 15, 1998.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: John Lepore, 907-586-7228.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Beginning in 1995, fishing for Pacific 
halibut (Hippoglossus stenolepis) and sablefish (Anoplopoma fimbria) 
with fixed gear in the IFQ regulatory areas defined in Sec. 679.2 has 
been managed under the IFQ Program. The IFQ Program is a regulatory 
regime designed to promote the conservation and management of these 
fisheries and to further the objectives of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 
Conservation and Management Act and the Northern Pacific Halibut Act. 
Persons holding quota share receive an annual allocation of IFQ. 
Persons receiving an annual allocation of IFQ are authorized to harvest 
IFQ species within specified limitations. Further information on the 
implementation of the IFQ Program, and the rationale supporting it, are 
contained in the preamble to the final rule implementing the IFQ 
Program published in the Federal Register, November 9, 1993 (58 FR 
59375), and subsequent amendments.
    This announcement is consistent with Sec. 679.23(g)(1), which 
requires that directed fishing for sablefish managed under the IFQ 
program be specified by the Administrator, Alaska Region, and announced 
by publication in the Federal Register. This method of season 
announcement was selected to facilitate coordination between the 
sablefish season, chosen by the Administrator, Alaska Region, and the 
halibut season, chosen by the IPHC. The directed fishing season for 
sablefish with fixed gear managed under the IFQ program will open at 
1200 hrs, A.l.t., March 15, 1998, and will close 1200 hrs, A.l.t., 
November 15, 1998. This period runs concurrently with the IFQ season 
for Pacific halibut announced by the IPHC. The IFQ halibut season will 
be announced by publication in the Federal Register.

Classification

    This action is taken under Sec. 679.23(g)(1) and is exempt from 
review under E.O. 12866.

    Authority: 16 U.S.C. 773 et seq. and 1801 et seq.


[[Page 11630]]


    Dated: March 4, 1998.
Bruce C. Morehead,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 98-6136 Filed 3-9-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-F