[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 106 (Monday, June 3, 2013)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 33040-33044]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-13050]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 679

RIN 0648-BB76


Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone Off Alaska; Fisheries of 
the Gulf of Alaska; Amendment 89 to the Fishery Management Plan for 
Groundfish of the Gulf of Alaska

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

ACTION: Notice of availability of fishery management plan amendment; 
request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The North Pacific Fishery Management Council has submitted 
Amendment 89 to the Fishery Management Plan for Groundfish of the Gulf 
of Alaska (FMP). Amendment 89 would modify the FMP in two ways, if 
approved. First, Amendment 89 would establish a protection area in 
Marmot Bay, northeast of Kodiak Island, and close that area to fishing 
with trawl gear except for directed fishing for pollock with pelagic 
trawl gear to reduce bycatch of Tanner crab (Chionoecetes bairdi) in 
Gulf of Alaska (GOA) groundfish fisheries. Second, Amendment 89 would 
require the use of modified nonpelagic trawl gear when directed fishing 
for flatfish in the Central Regulatory Area of the GOA and would 
provide authority in the FMP to specify in regulation the modifications 
that are required to raise portions of the gear off the sea floor. The 
use of modified nonpelagic trawl gear in these fisheries would reduce 
the unobserved injury and mortality of Tanner crab and the potential 
adverse impacts of nonpelagic trawl gear on bottom habitat. This action 
is intended to promote the goals and objectives of the Magnuson-Stevens 
Fishery Conservation and Management Act, the FMP, and other applicable 
law. Comments from the public are encouraged.

DATES: Comments on the amendment must be received on or before August 
2, 2013.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments on this document, identified by 
NOAA-NMFS-2011-0294, by any of the following methods:
     Electronic Submission: Submit all electronic public 
comments via the Federal e-Rulemaking Portal. Go to 
www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=NOAA-NMFS-2011-0294, click the 
``Comment Now!'' icon, complete the required fields, and enter or 
attach your comments.
     Mail: Address written comments to Glenn Merrill, Assistant 
Regional Administrator, Sustainable Fisheries Division, Alaska Region 
NMFS, Attn: Ellen Sebastian. Mail comments to P.O. Box 21668, Juneau, 
AK 99802-1668.
     Fax: Address written comments to Glenn Merrill, Assistant 
Regional Administrator, Sustainable Fisheries Division, Alaska Region 
NMFS, Attn: Ellen Sebastian. Fax comments to 907-586-7557.
    Instructions: Comments must be submitted by one of the above 
methods to ensure that the comments are received, documented, and 
considered by NMFS. Comments sent by any other method, to any other 
address or individual, or received after the end of the comment period, 
may not be considered. All comments received are a part of the public 
record and will generally be posted for public viewing on 
www.regulations.gov without change. All personal identifying 
information (e.g., name, address) submitted voluntarily by the sender 
will be publicly accessible.
    Do not submit confidential business information, or otherwise 
sensitive or protected information. NMFS will accept anonymous comments 
(enter ``N/A'' in the required fields if you wish to remain anonymous). 
Attachments to electronic comments will be accepted in Microsoft Word 
or Excel, WordPerfect, or Adobe PDF file formats only.
    Electronic copies of Amendment 89, the EA/RIR/IFRA prepared for the 
Area Closures for Tanner Crab Protection in Gulf of Alaska Groundfish 
Fisheries (Area Closures EA/RIR/IRFA), and the EA/RIR/IRFA for Trawl 
Sweep Modification in the Flatfish Fishery in the Central Gulf of 
Alaska (Trawl Sweep EA/RIE/IRFA) are available from http://

[[Page 33041]]

www.regulations.gov or from the NMFS Alaska Region Web site at http://alaskafisheries.noaa.gov.

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

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: NMFS manages the groundfish fisheries in the 
exclusive economic zone under the Fishery Management Plan for 
Groundfish of the GOA (FMP). The North Pacific Fishery Management 
Council (Council) prepared the FMP under the authority of the Magnuson-
Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act), 
16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq. Regulations governing U.S. fisheries and 
implementing the FMP appear at 50 CFR parts 600 and 679.
    The Magnuson-Stevens Act requires that each regional fishery 
management council submit any fishery management plan amendment it 
prepares 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 fishery management plan amendment, 
immediately publish a notice in the Federal Register announcing that 
the amendment is available for public review and comment. This notice 
announces that proposed Amendment 89 to the FMP is available for public 
review and comment.

Background

    Since the implementation of the FMP in 1978, the Council and NMFS 
have adopted measures intended to control the catch of species taken 
incidentally in groundfish fisheries. Certain species are designated as 
``prohibited'' in the FMP, because they are the target of other fully 
utilized domestic fisheries. The FMP and implementing regulations at 
Sec.  679.21 require that catch of these species and species groups 
must be avoided while fishing for groundfish, and when incidentally 
caught, they must be immediately returned to sea with a minimum of 
injury. These species include Pacific halibut, Pacific herring, Pacific 
salmon, steelhead trout, king crab, and Tanner crab. The incidental 
catch of prohibited species under Sec.  679.21 require prohibited 
species to be discarded at sea with minimum injury, or retained but not 
sold under the Prohibited Species Donation Program at Sec.  679.26. The 
Magnuson-Stevens Act refers to species which must be discarded by 
regulation as ``bycatch.''
    The Council has recommended in both the Bering Sea and Aleutian 
Islands Management Area (BSAI) and GOA, and NMFS has implemented, 
measures to: (1) Close areas with a high occurrence of prohibited 
species, or where there is a relatively high level of prohibited 
species catch; (2) require the use of gear specifically modified to 
minimize prohibited species catch and effects on bottom habitat; and 
(3) establish prohibited species catch (PSC) limits in specific Alaska 
groundfish fisheries. A summary of these measures is in Section 1 of 
the Area Closures EA/RIR/IRFA (see ADDRESSES).
    The Council has recommended, and NMFS has implemented, closure 
areas to protect king crab stock in the GOA. These area closures limit 
the use of gear that fish on or close to the sea floor, such as 
nonpelagic trawl and pot gears, to minimize the bycatch of crab species 
and adverse impacts on crab habitat. Specifically, in the Central GOA, 
regulations implementing Amendment 15 to the FMP (52 FR 12183, April 
15, 1987) established closures near Kodiak, AK, to protect king crab 
habitat. These closure areas were subsequently expanded and revised 
under regulations implementing Amendment 26 to the FMP (58 FR 503, 
January 6, 1993). Time and areas closures to the use of nonpelagic 
trawl gear have been shown to reduce injury and mortality to crab 
species in both the BSAI and GOA. For this reason, NMFS is proposing 
closure to vessels using trawl gear except for vessels directed fishing 
for pollock with pelagic trawl gear to protect Tanner crab in a portion 
of the Central GOA.
    Recently, NMFS implemented regulations that require the use of 
modified nonpelagic trawl gear in the Bering Sea flatfish fisheries to 
reduce the bycatch of crab and minimize the impact of this gear on 
bottom habitat. See Amendment 94 to the FMP for Groundfish of the 
Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Management Area (BSAI FMP) for 
additional detail (75 FR 61642, October 6, 2010). NMFS is proposing to 
also require the use of raised trawl sweeps in the GOA.
    In 2005, the Council initiated a series of reviews on prohibited 
species bycatch in the GOA groundfish fisheries. These reviews led the 
Council to focus action on two prohibited species and two regulatory 
areas with potentially high bycatch levels: Chinook salmon 
(Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) bycatch in pollock fisheries in the Central 
and Western GOA, and Tanner crab bycatch in the Central GOA. The 
Council addressed Chinook salmon bycatch in the GOA through Amendment 
93 to the FMP (77 FR 42629, July 20, 2012). In October 2009, the 
Council initiated an analysis of potential protection measures for 
Tanner crab in the Central GOA. In April 2010, the Council initially 
reviewed alternative bycatch control measures, subsequently revised and 
refined these alternatives, and in October 2010, recommended that the 
FMP be amended to establish a protection area in Marmot Bay, northeast 
of Kodiak Island, and that the area be closed to fishing with trawl 
gear except for directed fishing for pollock with pelagic trawl gear.
    When the Council recommended the Marmot Bay Area closure in October 
2010, it directed its staff to review the practicality of requiring the 
use of modified nonpelagic trawl gear by vessels directed fishing for 
flatfish in the Central GOA. The Council recommended this review as a 
first step in considering additional measures to reduce the potential 
adverse effects of nonpelagic trawl gear on bottom habitat and to 
reduce unobserved Tanner crab injury and mortality. The Council's 
recommendation was based on past experience with the use of modified 
nonpelagic trawl gear to reduce potential adverse effects on bottom 
habitat in Bering Sea flatfish fisheries. In 2008, NMFS, the NMFS 
Office of Law Enforcement, and the fishing industry tested modified 
nonpelagic fishing gear in the Bering Sea under normal fishing 
conditions to determine if this gear could be used safely and 
effectively in ways that may reduce potential adverse effects on bottom 
habitat while maintaining effective catch rates for flatfish target 
species. These initial tests were successful, and in October 2009, the 
Council recommended Amendment 94 to the FMP for Groundfish of the BSAI, 
which requires vessels directed fishing for flatfish in the Bering Sea 
subarea to use modified nonpelagic trawl gear. In 2010, NMFS published 
final regulations implementing BSAI Amendment 94 (75 FR 61642, October 
6, 2010).
    In February 2012, the Council reviewed an analysis of potential 
impacts of expanding the required use of modified nonpelagic trawl gear 
to vessels in the Central GOA flatfish fisheries. After additional 
review in April 2012, the Council recommended requiring that vessels 
directed fishing for flatfish in the Central GOA use modified 
nonpelagic trawl gear. GOA Amendment 89 incorporates both of the 
Council's recommendations, intended to be taken as a suite of 
protection measures for Tanner crab in the Central GOA.
    The Council identified several reasons for protection measures for 
Tanner crab in the GOA groundfish fisheries:
     Tanner crab is identified in the FMP as a prohibited 
species that is

[[Page 33042]]

incidentally caught in the Central GOA groundfish trawl, pot, and 
longline fisheries. Tanner crab is incidentally caught in relatively 
high proportion by vessels using nonpelagic trawl gear in the Central 
GOA.
     Directed fisheries for Tanner crab in the Central GOA are 
fully allocated under the current limited entry system managed by the 
State of Alaska. Details of this crab fishery are described in Section 
3.5 in the Area Closures EA/RIR/IRFA.
     No specific conservation measures exist in the Central GOA 
to address adverse interactions with Tanner crab by vessels using trawl 
gear to directed fish for groundfish.
     Tanner crab is a bottom-dwelling species, and limits on 
the use of nonpelagic trawl gear may reduce Tanner crab PSC and adverse 
effects on Tanner crab habitat.

Proposed Action 1: Marmot Bay Tanner Crab Protection Area

    Amendment 89 to the GOA FMP would establish an area called the 
Marmot Bay Tanner Crab Protection Area (Marmot Bay Area). The proposed 
Marmot Bay Area is northeast of Kodiak Island and would extend westward 
from 151 degrees 47 minutes W longitude to State waters between 58 
degrees N latitude and 58 degrees 15 minutes N latitude. The proposed 
Marmot Bay Area would share borders with two existing areas, the Type 1 
Marmot Flats Area and the Type 3 Outer Bay Area. The southern and 
eastern borders of the proposed Marmot Bay Area would be the same 
latitude and longitude as the northern and eastern borders, 
respectively, of the existing Marmot Flats Area. The Marmot Flats Area 
is closed to directed fishing with nonpelagic trawl gear (see Sec.  
679.22(b)(1)(i) and Figure 5 to part 679). Under current regulations, 
the Outer Marmot Bay Area is open to directed fishing with nonpelagic 
trawl gear unless otherwise closed. The proposed Marmot Bay Area and 
the existing Marmot Flats and Outer Marmot Bay Areas are shown in 
Figure 1. Where the proposed Marmot Bay Area overlaps the Type 3 Outer 
Marmot Bay Area, the more restrictive proposed regulation, the year 
round closure to the use of trawl gear (excepted as noted) in the 
Marmot Bay Area would apply. State of Alaska waters to the west of both 
the proposed Marmot Bay Area and the existing Marmot Flats Area are 
closed year-round to the use of nonpelagic trawl gear under existing 
state regulations (5 AAC 39.164).
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TP03JN13.000

    With one exception, Amendment 89 would close the Marmot Bay Area 
year-round to directed fishing for groundfish by vessels using trawl 
gear. The term ``directed fishing'' is defined in regulation at Sec.  
679.2. Directed fishing for pollock by vessels using pelagic trawl gear 
would be exempt from this closure. Overall, the effect of the

[[Page 33043]]

proposed Marmot Bay Area closure would be to extend closures on the use 
of trawl gear to the north and east of State and Federal waters that 
are currently closed to nonpelagic trawl gear. The Marmot Bay Area 
closure also would prohibit the use of all trawl gear, other than 
pelagic trawl gear used in the directed fishery for pollock. The 
Council recommended this exemption due to the limited potential 
reductions of Tanner crab PSC that would occur if the pelagic trawl 
pollock fishery were subject to the closure. The use of pelagic trawl 
gear for species other than pollock was not identified in the Marmot 
Bay Area; therefore, no additional exemptions to the trawl closure were 
warranted. See Section 3.3.2 of the Area Closures EA/RIR/IRFA for 
additional detail.
    The Council recommended the Marmot Bay Area trawl gear closure 
based primarily on the high observed rate of Tanner crab mortality by 
nonpelagic trawl gear in the Marmot Bay Area relative to other areas in 
the Central GOA. (See Section 3.3 of the Area Closures EA/RIR/IRFA for 
additional detail.) The areas with the greatest abundance of crab are 
the Marmot Bay Area, northeast of Kodiak Island; the Chiniak Gully east 
of Kodiak Island; and Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) 
Statistical Areas 525702 and 525630, southeast of Kodiak Island. The 
Marmot Bay Area had the highest average mortality rate of crab per 
metric ton (mt) of groundfish catch by vessels using nonpelagic trawl 
gear in the Kodiak District between 2001 and 2009 (the most recent 
years of available data) at 7.68 crab/mt groundfish. (See Section 3.3 
of the Area Closures EA/RIR/IRFA for additional detail.)
    The Council considered a range of alternative closure areas to 
limit the use of nonpelagic trawl gear and pot gear in the Marmot Bay 
Area, ADF&G Statistical Areas 525702 and 525630, and the Chiniak Gully. 
Ultimately, the Council recommended limiting the closure to most trawl 
gear in the Marmot Bay Area based on: (1) The high rate of Tanner crab 
mortality in the Marmot Bay Area relative to other areas; (2) the 
observation of mature male and female Tanner crab populations within 
the Marmot Bay Area; (3) the occurrence of known Tanner crab habitat 
within the Marmot Bay Area; (4) the high rate of Tanner crab bycatch by 
vessels using trawl gear relative to pot gear; and (5) the limited 
impact that the Marmot Bay Area closure would likely have on existing 
nonpelagic trawl participants relative to closures in other areas. See 
Section 3.1 of the Area Closures EA/RIR/IRFA for additional detail of 
the alternatives considered. The Council considered but rejected 
closing areas to pot, longline, and pelagic trawl gear used in the 
directed pollock fishery given the relatively small amount of Tanner 
crab bycatch by these gear types relative to nonpelagic trawl gear. 
(See Section 3.3.3 of the Area Closures EA/RIR/IRFA for additional 
detail.)
    The Marmot Bay Area closure would be consistent with past measures 
the Council has recommended, and NMFS has implemented, to limit impacts 
of nonpelagic trawl gear on crab populations, directly by limiting 
injury and mortality, and indirectly by reducing potential adverse 
habitat impacts. Overall, observed Tanner crab mortality in the Central 
GOA accounts for less than one fifth of one percent of the assessed 
crab population in the Central GOA. See Section 3.3.3 of the Area 
Closures EA/RIR/IRFA for additional detail. Because overall crab 
bycatch in the GOA groundfish fisheries can be small in relation to 
crab population, but potentially concentrated in certain areas or at 
certain times, time and area closures are more effective than Tanner 
crab PSC limits in reducing the potential impacts of nonpelagic trawl 
gear on crab stocks. The proposed closure for the Marmot Bay Area may 
assist in the conservation of the Tanner crab stock by reducing injury 
and mortality and potential adverse effects of nonpelagic trawl gear on 
bottom habitat used by Tanner crab.
    In October 2010, the Council also recommended that NMFS incorporate 
statistically robust observer information from certain vessels using 
pot gear in the Marmot Bay Area and certain vessels using nonpelagic 
trawl or pot gear in two other specific areas near Kodiak, AK (ADF&G 
Statistical Area 525702 and Chiniak Gully). Overall, the intent of the 
Council's recommendation was to improve estimates of Tanner crab 
bycatch data in the GOA groundfish fisheries that occur within these 
areas. At the same meeting that the Council recommended enhanced 
observer coverage for these three areas, the Council also recommended 
Amendment 86 to the BSAI FMP and Amendment 76 to the GOA FMP which 
comprehensively restructured the funding and deployment of onboard 
observers under the North Pacific Groundfish Observer Program (Observer 
Program). The Council included as part of its recommendation for 
improved estimates of Tanner crab bycatch that NMFS ``incorporate, to 
the extent possible, in [the restructured Observer Program], an 
observer deployment strategy that ensures adequate coverage to 
establish statistically robust observations'' in the three specific 
areas near Kodiak, AK.
    NMFS published a notice of availability for Amendments 86 and 76 to 
the FMPs on March 14, 2012 (77 FR 15019), and a proposed rule for the 
restructured Observer Program on April 18, 2012 (77 FR 23326). On June 
7, 2012, the Secretary of Commerce approved Amendments 86 and 76 to the 
FMPs for the restructured Observer Program in the Alaska groundfish 
fisheries, and the final rule to implement the amendments, effective 
January 1, 2013, was published on November 21, 2012 (77 FR 70062). 
Details of the restructured Observer Program are available in the 
proposed and final rules for that action.
    The restructured Observer Program improves the quality of fisheries 
data, including Tanner crab bycatch information in the GOA groundfish 
fisheries. Vessels under the restructured Observer Program are either 
fully or partially observed. A detailed list of vessels in the full and 
partial observer coverage categories is provided in the restructured 
Observer Program proposed rule (77 FR 23326, April 18, 2012). A 
randomized system for the assignment of observer coverage throughout 
the GOA for partially observed vessels is used to reduce potential bias 
in the observer data. Selecting specific locations in the Central GOA 
for increased observer coverage would reduce the ability to randomize 
observer assignments and therefore potentially bias observer data. 
Because the restructured Observer Program incorporates an observer 
deployment strategy that ensures adequate coverage to establish 
statistically robust observations for the GOA, NMFS has determined that 
the Council's recommendation has been implemented by Amendments 86 and 
76 and no additional measures are needed with Amendment 89. NMFS 
intends to use the regulations and deployment process established under 
the restructured Observer Program to obtain fishery catch and bycatch 
data without specific observer coverage requirements in specific areas 
in the GOA. In order to ensure that the Council's desire to obtain 
better observer data is being met, NMFS will present a deployment plan 
for observers annually for the Council's review.

Proposed Action 2: Modification of Nonpelagic Trawl Gear Used in the 
Central GOA Directed Flatfish Fisheries

    Amendment 89 would amend the FMP to require the use of modified 
nonpelagic trawl gear when directed fishing for flatfish in the Central 
GOA

[[Page 33044]]

and would provide authority in the FMP to specify in regulation the 
modifications that are required to raise portions of the gear off the 
sea floor. In the GOA, the flatfish fisheries include the directed 
fisheries for shallow-water flatfish, deep-water flatfish, arrowtooth 
flounder, rex sole, and flathead sole, as defined in Table 10 to 50 CFR 
part 679.
    While the proposed amendments to the FMP under Amendment 89 are 
general, the Council provided detailed recommendations on the specific 
modifications that would be required to nonpelagic trawl gear through 
regulation. The primary effect of the proposed rule to implement this 
aspect of Amendment 89 would be to require modifications to a specific 
component of the gear. Nonpelagic trawl gear uses a pair of long lines 
called ``sweeps'' to herd fish into the net. The sweeps drag across the 
bottom and may adversely impact benthic organisms (e.g., crab species, 
sea whips, sponges, and basket stars). Approximately 90 percent of the 
bottom contact of nonpelagic trawl gear used in directed fishing for 
flatfish is from the sweeps, which can be more than 1,000 feet (304.8 
m) in length.
    NMFS studies in the Bering Sea have shown that elevating the trawl 
sweeps can reduce the adverse effects of nonpelagic trawl gear on 
Tanner, snow, and red king crab by reducing the unobserved mortality 
and injury of these species. In addition, elevating the trawl sweeps 
can reduce impacts on benthic organisms, such as basketstars and sea 
whips. Further research was conducted in 2011 in the GOA to identify 
the appropriate construction of modified nonpelagic trawl gear, and to 
identify and resolve any implementation issues specific to the GOA. 
Field testing in the GOA of the modified nonpelagic trawl gear 
demonstrated that the participants in the GOA flatfish fishery can meet 
the same performance standard and construction requirements that apply 
to the Bering Sea flatfish fishery under regulations at Sec.  
679.24(f). Additional information on these studies and tests is 
provided in Section 1.5.5 of the Trawl Sweep EA/RIR/IRFA.
    Proposed regulations implementing Amendment 89 would require that 
vessels using nonpelagic trawl gear to directed fish for flatfish in 
the Central GOA meet the performance standard and construction 
requirements set forth in Sec.  679.24(f), which require the use of 
elevating devices to raise the elevated section of the sweeps at least 
2.5 inches. Elevating devices would be placed on the sweeps to meet 
this performance standard. Details of the performance standard and 
construction requirements are at Sec.  679.24(f).
    As noted in Section 1.8 of the Trawl Sweep EA/RIR/IRFA, it is not 
possible to quantify a benefit to crab stocks in the Central GOA from 
modified nonpelagic trawl gear without further testing to understand 
how sediment conditions in the Central GOA flatfish fishery compare to 
the areas in which the Bering Sea experiments occurred. However, the 
general similarity of GOA trawl gear to that used in the Bering Sea 
indicates that while the benefits may be smaller due to different 
sediment conditions in the GOA, they would still be substantial. While 
requiring this gear modification for vessels fishing in the Central GOA 
flatfish fishery could provide benefits to crab stocks by reducing 
unobserved injury and mortality, it would not be likely to change 
reported crab PSC totals from nonpelagic trawl fishing, which account 
only for crabs that come up in the trawl net. As noted in Section 2.9 
of the Trawl Sweep EA/RIR/IRFA, the proposed action is not expected to 
result in a net decrease in the target catch rates in the Central GOA 
flatfish fishery.
    The Council considered but rejected alternatives that would have 
required the use of modified nonpelagic trawl gear in other nonpelagic 
trawl fisheries (e.g., Pacific cod), and the use of nonpelagic trawl 
gear in the Eastern and Western GOA flatfish fisheries. Flatfish 
fisheries in the Central GOA contribute the greatest proportion of 
Tanner crab PSC, while other nonpelagic trawl gear fisheries in the GOA 
account for only a modest proportion of Tanner crab PSC. See Sections 
1.1 and 1.5 of the Trawl Sweep EA/RIR/IRFA for additional detail (see 
ADDRESSES). The Council's recommendation targets the specific fisheries 
that consistently have the highest bycatch of Tanner crab in the GOA.

Public Comments

    NMFS is soliciting public comments on the proposed FMP amendment 
through August 2, 2013. A proposed rule that would implement Amendment 
89 will be published in the Federal Register for public comment at a 
later date, following NMFS' evaluation pursuant to the Magnuson-Stevens 
Act. Public comments on the proposed rule must be received by the end 
of the comment period on Amendment 89 in order to be considered in the 
approval/disapproval decision on the amendment. All comments received 
on the amendment by the end of the comment period, whether specifically 
directed to the amendment or to the proposed rule, will be considered 
in the approval/disapproval decision. Comments received after that date 
will not be considered in the approval/disapproval decision on the 
amendment. To be considered, comments must be received--not just 
postmarked or otherwise transmitted--by 1700 hours, A.D.T., on the last 
day of the comment period (See DATES and ADDRESSES).

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

    Dated: May 29, 2013.
Emily H. Menashes,
Deputy Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2013-13050 Filed 5-31-13; 8:45 am]
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