[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 70 (Tuesday, April 11, 2000)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 19354-19355]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-8872]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 679

[I.D. 032900C]
RIN 0648-AN25


Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone Off Alaska; Allocation 
of Pacific Cod among Vessels Using Hook-and-line or Pot Gear in the 
Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands

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: The North Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) has 
submitted Amendment 64 to the Fishery Management Plan for the 
Groundfish Fishery of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Area (FMP). 
This amendment would apportion the hook-and-line or pot gear (fixed 
gear) allocation of total allowable catch (TAC) of Pacific cod in the 
Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands management area (BSAI) among hook-and-
line catcher-processor vessels, hook-and-line catcher vessels, and pot 
gear vessels. This action responds to socio-economic needs of the 
fishing industry that have been identified by the Council and intends 
to promote the goals and objectives of the FMP.
    NMFS is requesting comments from the public on the proposed 
amendment, copies of which may be obtained from the Council (see 
ADDRESSES).

DATES: Comments on Amendment 64 must be submitted by June 12, 2000.

ADDRESSES: Comments must be sent to Sue Salveson, Assistant Regional 
Administrator for Sustainable Fisheries, Alaska Region, NMFS, P.O. Box 
21668, Juneau, AK 99802, Attn: Lori Gravel. Hand- or courier-delivered 
comments may be sent to the Federal Building, 709 West 9th Street, Room 
453, Juneau, AK 99801. Comments may also be sent via facsimile (fax) to 
907-586-7465. Comments will not be accepted if submitted via e-mail or 
the Internet. Copies of Amendment 64 and the Environmental Assessment/
Regulatory Impact Review/Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis (EA/
RIR/IRFA) prepared for the amendments are available from the North 
Pacific Fishery Management Council at 605 West 4th Ave. Suite 306, 
Anchorage, AK 99501, telephone 907-271-2809.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: James Hale, 907-586-7228.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    The Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act 
(Magnuson-Stevens Act) requires that each regional fishery management 
council submit any fishery management plan or plan amendment it 
prepares to NMFS for review and approval, disapproval, or partial 
approval. The Magnuson-Stevens Act also requires that NMFS, after 
receiving a fishery management plan or amendment, immediately publish a 
notice in the Federal Register that the fishery management plan or 
amendment is available for public review and comment. This action 
constitutes such notice for Amendment 64 to the BSAI FMP. NMFS will 
consider the public comments received during the comment period in 
determining whether to approve this amendment.
    The groundfish fisheries in the Exclusive Economic Zone (3 to 200 
miles offshore) of the BSAI are managed by NMFS under the BSAI 
groundfish FMP, which was prepared by the Council under the Magnuson-
Stevens Act, Pub. L. 94-265, 16 U.S.C. 1801, and approved and 
implemented by NMFS in 1981.
    Amendment 64, if approved, would establish separate Pacific cod 
directed fishing allowances for different sectors of vessels using 
hook-and-line or pot gear. These allowances are intended to reflect 
relative Pacific cod harvest shares since the mid 1990s. Under the 
proposed amendment, the Regional Administrator, NMFS, Alaska Region, 
annually would estimate the amount of Pacific cod taken as incidental 
catch in directed fisheries for groundfish other than Pacific cod by 
vessels using hook-and-line or pot gear and deduct that amount from the 
portion of Pacific cod TAC annually allocated to hook-and-line or pot 
gear (51 percent of the TAC). The remainder would be further allocated 
as directed fishing allowances for the different hook-and-line and pot 
gear users (sectors) as follows:
    (a) Catcher/processor vessels using hook-and-line gear-80 percent;
    (b) Catcher vessels using hook-and-line gear-0.3 percent;
    (c) Vessels using pot gear-18.3 percent; and
    (d) Catcher vessels less than 60 ft (18.3 meters) length overall 
(LOA) that use either hook-and-line or pot gear-1.4 percent.
    Specific provisions for the accounting of these directed fishing 
allowances and the transfer of unharvested amounts of these allowances 
to other vessels using hook-and-line or pot gear would be set forth in 
regulations implementing the proposed amendment.
    Amendment 64 would expire December 31, 2003. Continuing the 
proposed allocations of Pacific cod or selecting new allocation 
percentages after this date would require Council adoption and NMFS' 
approval of a new FMP amendment. In adopting an expiration date for the 
proposed amendment, the Council reasoned that 3 years would be 
sufficient time for the hook-and-line or pot gear sector allocations of 
Pacific cod to address the issue of increasing competition for BSAI 
Pacific cod before reconsidering the issue in light of other proposed 
changes impending for the BSAI Pacific cod groundfish fisheries, 
including proposed gear or species endorsements on permits issued under 
the license limitation program.
    Public comments are being solicited on this proposed amendment 
through the end of the comment period specified in this notice. A 
proposed rule that would implement the amendment may be published in 
the Federal Register for public comment following NMFS' evaluation 
under the Magnuson-Stevens Act procedures. Public comments on the 
proposed rule must be received by close of business on the last day of 
the comment period of the amendment to be considered in the decision to 
approve or disapprove the amendment. All comments received by the end 
of the comment period, whether specifically directed to the amendment 
or to the

[[Page 19355]]

proposed rule, will be considered in the decision.

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

    Dated: April 4, 2000.
Bruce C. Morehead,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 00-8872 Filed 4-10-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-F