[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 79 (Monday, April 26, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 21600-21601]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-9569]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RIN 0648-XW07


Groundfish Fisheries of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Area 
and the Gulf of Alaska; King and Tanner Crab Fisheries in the Bering 
Sea/Aleutian Islands; Scallop and Salmon Fisheries Off the Coast of 
Alaska

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

ACTION:  Notification of a call for proposals for Habitat Areas of 
Particular Concern (HAPCs) and associated fishery management measures.

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SUMMARY:  The North Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) and 
NMFS are soliciting proposals for candidate sites that could be 
identified as HAPCs and managed within Essential Fish Habitat (EFH) 
pursuant to the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management 
Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act). The Council has identified skate nurseries 
as a priority for consideration during this call for proposals, and 
proposals must meet the identified priority.

DATES:  Proposals must be submitted by August 16, 2010.

ADDRESSES:  Proposals should be submitted to the North Pacific Fishery 
Management Council, 605 W. 4th Ave., Suite 306, Anchorage, AK 99501-
2252.

[[Page 21601]]


FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Diana Evans or Sarah Melton, (907) 
271-2809.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: HAPC designations provide an opportunity for 
Councils to highlight especially valuable and/or vulnerable areas 
within EFH that warrant priority consideration for conservation and 
management. The regulatory guidelines for implementing the EFH 
provisions of the Magnuson-Stevens Act encourage Fishery Management 
Councils to identify specific types or areas of habitat within EFH as 
HAPCs based on the following considerations: (1) the importance of the 
ecological function provided by the habitat, (2) the extent to which 
the habitat is sensitive to human-induced environmental degradation, 
(3) whether, and to what extent, development activities are, or will 
be, stressing the habitat type, and (4) the rarity of the habitat type 
(50 CFR 600.815(a)(8)). In the North Pacific, specific sites will be 
considered for HAPC if they (a) meet the rarity consideration above, 
and (b) meet at least one other of the HAPC considerations.
    The Council and NMFS are soliciting proposals for specific 
candidate sites to be considered as HAPCs. Proposals must meet the 
Council's identified priority for this proposal cycle, which is skate 
nurseries. Proposal applications are available on the Council website, 
www.alaskafisheries.noaa.gov/npfmc. The review process for proposals is 
identified in the proposal package, available on the website, and will 
involve screening to determine how responsive proposals are to the 
Council's priority and HAPC consideration. Following review, the 
Council will decide whether to proceed with a fishery management plan 
amendment to identify HAPCs and any associated management measures. 
NMFS will promulgate any resulting regulations, supported by 
appropriate analyses.
    Proposals should include the following information:
    1. Proposer information (name, address, affiliation)
    2. Title of proposal
    3. Summary of proposal (single, brief paragraph describing the 
proposed action)
    4. Identification of what habitat and FMP species the proposed area 
is intended to protect
    5. Geographic delineation of the proposed HAPC (including latitude 
and longitude reference points and delineation on an appropriately-
scaled NOAA chart)
    6. Responsiveness to HAPC considerations and Council priorities 
(identify how the proposed HAPC addresses the four considerations set 
out in the EFH guidelines, and the Council's priority habitat type for 
the 2010 proposal process)
    7. Purpose and need for proposal
    8. Specific objectives for proposal, and methods to measure 
progress toward those objectives
    9. Proposed management measures, if appropriate, to meet objectives
    10. Expected benefits of the proposed HAPC to FMP species
    11. Identification of fisheries, sectors, stakeholders, and 
communities who would be affected by the establishment of the proposed 
HAPC
    12. Supporting information (please provide the best available 
information and/or sources of information to support the objectives of 
the proposed HAPC and discussion of the expected effects of 
implementing the proposal, including socioeconomic costs if possible.)

    Dated: April 21, 2010.
Tracey Thompson,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
 [FR Doc. 2010-9569 Filed 4-23-10; 8:45 am]
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