[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 222 (Friday, November 17, 2006)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 66905-66906]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-19479]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 679

[Docket No. 060511126-6285-02; I.D. 050306E]


Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone Off Alaska; Allocating 
Gulf of Alaska Fishery Resources; Notification of Rockfish Pilot 
Program Public Workshop

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

ACTION:  Notification of public workshop.

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SUMMARY:  NMFS will present a public workshop on the Central Gulf of 
Alaska Rockfish Pilot Program (Program) for potentially eligible 
participants and other interested parties. NMFS will provide an 
overview of the Program, discuss the key Program elements and answer 
questions. NMFS is conducting this public workshop to provide 
assistance to fishery participants in understanding and reviewing this 
new Program.

DATES: The workshop will be held on Friday, December 1, 2006, 9 a.m. to 
12 p.m. Alaska Standard Time, Kodiak, AK.

ADDRESSES: The workshop will be held at the following location: Kodiak 
Fisheries Research Center (Main Conference Room), 301 Research Court, 
Kodiak, Ak 99615.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Glenn Merrill, 907-586-7228 or 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On June 7, 2006 (71 FR 33040), NMFS 
published a proposed rule that would implement the Program as Amendment 
68 to the Fishery Management Plan for Groundfish of the Gulf of Alaska 
(FMP). On August 10, 2006, NMFS approved Amendment 68 to the FMP. 
Amendment 68 establishes a program to allocate specific Central Gulf of 
Alaska groundfish resources among harvesters and processors. Harvesting 
and processing privileges for several species of rockfish, incidental 
harvests of other groundfish species, and halibut prohibited species 
catch would be allocated to participants that meet specific 
requirements. Amendment 68 was approved by the North Pacific Fishery 
Management Council (Council) on June 6, 2005. Amendment 68 implements 
the Program and is designed to meet the requirements of section 802 of 
the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2004 (Public Law 108-109, 
Section 802). Section 802 specifies the eligible participants, duration 
of the program, methods for allocating harvesting and processing 
privileges, and provides NMFS with the authority to regulate processors 
under this Program.
    A final rule implementing Amendment 68 will be published in the 
Federal Register on November 20, 2006. NMFS is conducting public 
workshops to provide assistance to fishery participants in reviewing 
the requirements of this new program. A workshop was conducted on 
November 17, 2006, at the Nordby Conference Center in Fishermen's 
Terminal, 3919 18th Ave. W. Seattle, WA 98119. NMFS has scheduled a 
second workshop for December 1, 2006, to be held at the Kodiak 
Fisheries Research Center (Main Conference Room), 301 Research Court, 
Kodiak, AK 99615.
    At each workshop, NMFS will provide an overview of the Program, and 
discuss the key Program elements. The key Program elements to be 
discussed include quota share application; cooperative, limited access, 
and opt-out fishery participation provisions; cooperative quota 
transfer provisions; the appeals process; monitoring and enforcement; 
and electronic reporting. Additionally, NMFS will answer questions from 
workshop participants. For further information on the Program, please 
visit the NMFS Alaska Region website at http://www.fakr.noaa.gov.

Special Accommodations

    The workshop is physically accessible to people with disabilities. 
Requests for special accommodations should be directed to Glenn Merrill 
(see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT) at least 5 working days before 
the workshop date.


[[Page 66906]]


    Dated: November 14, 2006.
James P. Burgess,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. E6-19479 Filed 11-16-06; 8:45 am]
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