[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 103 (Friday, May 29, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Page 29399]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-14279]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-6103-1]
1998 Chesapeake Bay and Atlantic Coast Tautog Fishery Management Plan 
(FMP)


Public Review (June 4, 1998 to July 3, 1998)

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: A draft of the 1998 Chesapeake Bay and Atlantic Coast Tautog 
Fisheries Management Plan (FMP) is available for public comment June 4, 
1998 to July 3, 1998. Although an active fishery exists in the Federal 
Exclusive Economic Zone (3-200 miles offshore), the Chesapeake Bay 
serves as an important nursery and feeding ground for young tautog. 
Concerns of localized overfishing and a shift toward increasing 
commercial fishing pressure since the early 1990s have led to the 
development of a federal fishery management plan for the species under 
the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC). Chesapeake Bay 
jurisdictions will promulgate several fishery management measures for 
tautog that will begin immediate reduction in exploitation levels, 
rebuild the spawning stock and promote uniform management between 
federal and state agencies. The Bay jurisdictions will reduce 
exploitation and improve protection of the spawning stock in the 
Chesapeake Bay and Atlantic by complying with federal ASMFC 
recommendations. Chesapeake Bay fishery management plans (FMPs) are 
prepared under the direction of the 1987 Chesapeake Bay Agreement and 
serve as a framework for conserving and wisely using fishery resources. 
The goal of the Chesapeake Bay and Atlantic Coast Tautog Fishery 
Management Plan (FMP) is to ``enhance and perpetuate tautog stocks and 
their habitat in the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries, and throughout 
its Atlantic coast range, so as to generate optimum long-term 
ecological, social, and economic benefits from their recreational and 
commercial harvest and utilization over time.''
    A draft of the Plan is available by calling the Chesapeake Bay 
Program Office at 1-800-YOUR BAY. Comments should be returned to Mike 
Barnette, Virginia Marine Resources Commission, 2600 Washington Ave., 
P.O. Box 756, Newport News, VA 23607.
William Matuszeski,
Director, Chesapeake Bay Program Office.
[FR Doc. 98-14279 Filed 5-28-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P