[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 80 (Wednesday, April 26, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Page 24649]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-6273]



[[Page 24649]]

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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[I.D. 041806A]


Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone Off Alaska; Public 
Meeting

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

ACTION: Notice of a public meeting.

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SUMMARY: NMFS will hold a meeting on a proposed cost recovery program 
for the Western Alaska Community Development Quota (CDQ) Program. The 
Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-
Stevens Act) requires that the Secretary of Commerce establish a fee 
collection program for the recovery of the actual costs directly 
related to the management and enforcement of the CDQ Program. NMFS is 
seeking public input about the development of such a CDQ cost recovery 
program.

DATES: The meeting will be held on Thursday, May 18, 2006, from 9 a.m. 
to 12 p.m.

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held in the Federal Building and 
Courthouse - Room 154, 222 West 7th Avenue, Anchorage, Alaska.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sally Bibb, CDQ Program Manager, 907-
586-7389 or [email protected].
    NMFS is developing a cost recovery program to implement 
requirements of Section 304(d) of the Magnuson-Stevens Act, which 
requires that the Secretary of Commerce establish a fee collection 
program for the recovery of the actual costs directly related to 
management and enforcement of individual fishing quota (IFQ) programs 
and CDQ programs. NMFS has already implemented cost recovery programs 
for the IFQ halibut, IFQ sablefish, and IFQ crab fisheries off Alaska. 
NMFS is developing an analysis in support of rulemaking to implement a 
cost recovery program for the fisheries managed under the CDQ Program.
    The Magnuson-Stevens Act proscribes many non-discretionary elements 
of cost recovery programs, such as the types of costs that may be 
recovered from the fishing industry, when applicable fees may be 
collected, and the disposition of such fees once paid. However, there 
are still a number of discretionary elements associated with a CDQ cost 
recovery program. These include such elements as: which entities would 
be required to pay fees; the species that would be included in a cost 
recovery program; the basis for affected entities' fee liability; and, 
how to incorporate a provision to allow the State of Alaska to apply 
for reimbursement of its CDQ Program management costs, among others.
    NMFS is conducting the May 18, 2006, meeting so that the public and 
participants in the CDQ Program may provide comments to NMFS on the 
development and implementation of the discretionary elements of the CDQ 
cost recovery program.

Special Accommodations

    This meeting is physically accessible to people with disabilities. 
Requests for sign language interpretation or other auxiliary aids 
should be directed to Sally Bibb (see contact information) by May 10, 
2006.

    Dated: April 20, 2006.
James P. Burgess,
Acting Deputy Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National 
Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. E6-6273 Filed 4-25-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-S