[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 164 (Tuesday, August 25, 1998)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 45217-45218]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-22831]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 660

[I.D. 080798B]


Pacific Fishery Management Council; Public Hearings

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

ACTION: Public hearings; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) will convene 
six public hearings on Draft Amendment 11 to the Pacific Coast 
Groundfish Fishery Management Plan (PCGFMP) and Draft Amendment 8 to 
the Northern Anchovy Fishery Management Plan (NA FMP) and its draft 
supplemental environmental impact statement (draft SEIS).

DATES: Written comments will be accepted until September 9, 1998. The 
hearings will be held from September 8 to September 10, 1998. See 
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION for specific dates and times.

ADDRESSES: Comments should be sent to Mr. Lawrence D. Six, Executive 
Director, Pacific Fishery Management Council, 2130 SW Fifth Avenue, 
Suite 224, Portland, OR 97201; telephone (503) 326-6352. Written 
comments sent to the Council should be received by Wednesday, September 
9, 1998, to assure time for copying and distribution before final 
consideration of the amendments by the Council. Copies of the draft 
amendments and the anchovy SEIS are available from the Council office.
    Comments may also be provided during the Council meeting, September 
14-18, 1998, at the Red Lion

[[Page 45218]]

Sacramento Inn, 1401 Arden Way, Sacramento, CA.
    The hearings will be held in California, Washington, and Oregon. 
See SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION for specific hearing locations and for 
special accommodations.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Lawrence D. Six, Executive Director, 
Pacific Fishery Management Council, at (503) 326-6352.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Council will hold public hearings on 
Draft Amendment 11 to the PCGF FMP and Draft Amendment 8 to the 
Northern Anchovy NA FMP and the associated draft SEIS. Both of these 
amendments contain proposed measures to address the new requirements of 
the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act.
    Draft Amendment 11 proposes to redefine ``overfishing,'' 
``overfished,'' ``optimum yield,'' and other terms; and would revise 
the procedures for setting annual harvest levels. The amendment would 
describe and identify essential fish habitat and establish procedures 
for implementing regulations to minimize adverse effects of fishing on 
such habitat. The amendment would also identify procedures for 
implementing regulations to reduce bycatch and to establish permits for 
fishing for or processing groundfish should the Council determine that 
additional permit requirements would be beneficial. The amendment would 
also authorize reserving a portion of the acceptable biological catch 
for use in scientific research.
    In addition, the Council proposes to amend the NA FMP to add 
Pacific sardine, Pacific (chub) mackerel, jack mackerel, and market 
squid to the management unit. The NA FMP divides the species into two 
general categories: (1) Actively managed species, those that require a 
limit on catch established by Federal regulations, and (2) monitored 
only species, those that are adequately managed without Federal 
regulatory measures on catch limits. The NA FMP provides for moving 
species from one category to another as biological and economic 
circumstances change by means of a framework process. The name of the 
NA FMP would be changed to the Coastal Pelagics Fishery Management 
Plan. The amendment would also redefine ``overfishing,'' 
``overfished,'' ``optimum yield,'' and other terms; and would revise 
the procedures for setting annual harvest levels. The amendment would 
describe and identify essential fish habitat and establish procedures 
for implementing regulations to minimize adverse effects of fishing on 
such habitat.

Dates, Times, and Locations

    The public hearings will be held on:
    Tuesday, September 8, 1998, 6:00 p.m., at the Doubletree Hotel, 
1929 Fourth Street, Eureka, CA;
    Tuesday, September 8, 1998, 6:00 p.m., at the California Department 
of Fish and Game, 330 Golden Shore, Suite 50, Long Beach, CA;
    Wednesday, September 9, 1998, 6:00 p.m., at the California 
Department of Fish and Game, 20 Lower Ragsdale Drive, Suite 100, 
Monterey, CA;
    Wednesday, September 9, 1998, 6:00 p.m., at the NMFS Regional 
Office, 7600 Point Way NE, Building 9, Seattle, WA;
    Thursday, September 9, 1998, 6:00 p.m., at the Red Lion Inn, 400 
Industry Street, Astoria, OR; and
    Friday, September 11, 1998, 2:00 p.m., at the Holiday Inn, 400 
North Coast Highway, Newport, OR.

Special Accommodations

    These meetings are physically accessible to people with 
disabilities. Requests for sign language interpretation or other 
auxiliary aids should be directed to John Rhoton at (503) 326-6352 at 
least 5 days prior to the meeting date.

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

    Dated: August 14, 1998.
Bruce Morehead,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 98-22831 Filed 8-24-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-F