[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 167 (Thursday, August 28, 2003)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Page 51763]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-22040]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 660

[Docket No. 030820209-3209-01; I.D. 081203B]
RIN 0648-AR37


Fisheries off West Coast States and in the Western Pacific; 
Western Pacific Bottomfish Fisheries; Guam and Commonwealth of the 
Northern Mariana Islands; Control Date

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

ACTION:  Advance notice of proposed rulemaking; request for comments.

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SUMMARY:  NMFS announces that persons who enter the bottomfish 
fisheries in waters of the U.S. exclusive economic zone (EEZ) around 
Guam and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) after 
June 13, 2003, (``control date'') are not guaranteed future 
participation in these fisheries. This action does not commit the 
Council or NMFS to limit entry, or prevent any other date from being 
selected for eligibility to participate in the bottomfish fishery off 
Guam and/or CNMI. The Council or NMFS may also use other criteria to 
limit fishing effort or participation in a limited entry program that 
is developed in the future. The purpose of this action is to notify 
persons interested in joining these fisheries after June 13, 2003, that 
they may be excluded if restrictions are adopted in the future.

DATES:  Comments must be submitted in writing by September 29, 2003.

ADDRESSES:  Submit written comments to Kitty M. Simonds, Council 
Executive Director, 1164 Bishop Street, Suite 1400, Honolulu, Hawaii, 
96813; or faxed to (808) 522-8226. Comments will not be accepted if 
submitted via E-mail or Internet.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:  Kitty M. Simonds at 808-522-8220.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On June 13, 2003, at its 118th meeting, the 
Council adopted a ``control date'' of June 13, 2003, as a notice to 
persons contemplating entering the fisheries for bottomfish species in 
the EEZ around Guam and CNMI. This action would not impose any 
restrictions on the public, but is intended solely to notify persons 
who joined or may join these fisheries after June 13, 2003, that they 
might be excluded if restrictions are adopted in the future under the 
Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act.
    This control date does not commit the Council or NMFS to any 
particular management regime or criteria for entry into the bottomfish 
fisheries off Guam and/or CNMI. Fishermen are not guaranteed future 
participation in either or both fisheries, regardless of their level of 
participation before or after the control date. The Council may choose 
a different control date or it may choose a management regime that does 
not involve a limited access program. Documentation of fish landings 
and sales may be used to determine eligibility for participation in a 
limited access fishery. The Council also may choose to take no further 
action to control entry or access to the fishery, in which case the 
control date may be rescinded.

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

    Dated: August 25, 2003.
Rebecca Lent,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 03-22040 Filed 8-27-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-S