[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 104 (Thursday, May 29, 2008)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 30875-30876]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-12010]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 679

RIN 0648-XH70


Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone Off Alaska; Groundfish 
Fisheries in the Gulf of Alaska

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

ACTION:  Availability of a proposed amendment to a fishery management 
plan; request for comments.

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SUMMARY:  The North Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) has 
submitted proposed Amendment 79 to the Fishery Management Plan for 
Groundfish of the Gulf of Alaska (FMP) for Secretarial review. If 
approved, Amendment 79 would amend the FMP and require the Council to 
annually recommend an aggregate overfishing level (OFL) and acceptable 
biological catch (ABC) for the ``other species'' category in the Gulf 
of Alaska (GOA). The ``other species'' category consists of sharks, 
sculpins, squid, and octopus. Currently, the Council only sets total 
allowable catch (TAC) for the ``other species'' category, which is 
intended to accommodate the directed catch of ``other species'' and 
incidental catch in other groundfish fisheries. The revised process 
would allow the Council to incorporate the best and most recent 
scientific and socio-economic information and public testimony in its 
recommendation for an annual ``other species'' TAC. The purpose of this 
amendment is to provide a sound biological basis for the setting of the 
``other species'' TAC, ABC, and OFL, and is necessary to comply with 
the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act.

DATES:  Comments must be received on or before July 28, 2008.

ADDRESSES:  Send comments to Sue Salveson, Assistant Regional 
Administrator, Sustainable Fisheries Division, Alaska Region, NMFS, 
Attn: Ellen Sebastian. You may submit comments, identified by RIN 0648-
XH70 by any one of the following methods:
     Electronic Submissions: Submit all electronic public 
comments via the Federal eRulemaking Portal website at http://www.regulations.gov.
     Mail: P.O. Box 21668, Juneau, AK 99802.

[[Page 30876]]

     Fax: 907-586-7557
     Hand delivery to the Federal Building: 709 West 9th 
Street, Room 420A, Juneau, AK.
    All comments received are a part of the public record and will be 
generally postedto http://www.regulations.gov without change. All 
Personal Identifying Information (e.g., name, address) voluntarily 
submitted by the commenter may be publicly accessible. Do not submit 
Confidential Business Information or otherwise sensitive or protected 
information.
    NMFS will accept anonymous comments. Attachments to electronic 
comments will be accepted in Microsoft Word, Excel, WordPerfect, or 
Adobe portable document file (pdf) formats only.
    Copies of Amendment 79 and the Environmental Assessment (EA) 
prepared for this action are available from the NMFS Alaska Region at 
the address above or from the Alaska Region website at http://www.fakr.noaa.gov/.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:  Tom Pearson, 907-481-1780.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation 
and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act) requires that each regional 
fishery management council submit any fishery management plan amendment 
to NMFS for review and approval, disapproval, or partial approval by 
the Secretary of Commerce. The Magnuson-Stevens Act also requires that 
NMFS, upon receiving a proposed amendment, immediately publish a notice 
in the Federal Register that the amendment is available for public 
review and comment. This action constitutes such notice for Amendment 
79 to the FMP. NMFS will consider public comments received during the 
comment period in determining whether to approve this FMP amendment.
    In 2006, NMFS implemented Amendment 69 to the FMP that allowed the 
North Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) to set the TAC for 
the ``other species'' category at or below 5 percent of the combined 
TACs for the GOA target species, which accommodated incidental catch in 
directed groundfish fisheries. This was an interim step to provide 
greater protection for the constituent species of the ``other species'' 
category until additional data allowed for adequate stock assessment. 
Under this system, the FMP did not authorize the specification of OFLs 
and ABCs for the ``other species'' category.
    In April 2008, the Council unanimously recommended Amendment 79 to 
the FMP. The purpose of Amendment 79 is to provide a sound biological 
basis for the setting of the ``other species'' TAC and to provide for 
an annual review of the stock status of the ``other species'' category 
to further reduce the risk of overfishing the species in the ``other 
species'' category. Amendment 79 would authorize aggregate OFL and ABC 
levels for the ``other species'' category in the GOA as part of the 
annual groundfish harvest specifications process. The revised process 
would allow the Council to incorporate the best and most recent 
scientific and socio-economic information and public testimony in its 
recommendation for an annual ``other species'' TAC. The proposed 
amendment is intended to comply with the Magnuson-Stevens Act, 
particularly National Standard 1 and Section 303(a), and other 
applicable laws.
    Public comments are being solicited on proposed Amendment 79 
through July 28, 2008. All comments received by the close of the 
business on the last day of the comment period on the amendment will be 
considered in the approval/disapproval decision. Comments received 
after that date will not be considered.

    Dated: May 22, 2008.
Samuel D. Rauch III,
Deputy Assistant Administrator For Regulatory Programs, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. E8-12010 Filed 5-28-08; 8:45 am]
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