94-24381. Groundfish of the Gulf of Alaska

[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 190 (Monday, October 3, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-24381]


[[Page Unknown]]

[Federal Register: October 3, 1994]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 672

[Docket No. 930222-4274; I.D. 091294C]

 

Groundfish of the Gulf of Alaska

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

ACTION: Technical amendment.

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SUMMARY: NMFS issues a technical amendment to clarify regulations that 
prohibit a vessel from participating in the Gulf of Alaska (GOA) 
directed sablefish hook-and-line gear fishery when hook-and-line gear 
was deployed from that vessel within 72 hours prior to the opening of 
that fishery. This technical amendment clarifies this prohibition by 
stating that it applies only to vessels that deployed hook-and-line 
gear in the GOA within 72 hours prior to the start of that fishery.

EFFECTIVE DATE: October 3, 1994.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ellen R. Varosi, 907-586-7228.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: NMFS published a final rule (58 FR 28520, 
May 14, 1993) that prohibits participation in the GOA directed 
sablefish fishery by a vessel that has deployed hook-and-line gear 
within 72 hours prior to the opening of that fishery. The rule was 
intended to apply only to vessels that deployed gear in the GOA in 
advance of that fishery. As written, the rule implied that a vessel is 
prohibited from participating in the GOA directed sablefish fishery if 
the vessel deployed hook-and-line gear in any fishery within 72 hours 
prior to that opening. This interpretation is inconsistent with the 
preamble to the proposed rule, published in the Federal Register on 
April 1, 1993 (58 FR 17193), which explains that the prohibition 
applies only to vessels that deploy hook-and-gear in the GOA within 72 
hours prior to the opening. Because hook-and-line vessel operators 
participating in fisheries in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands 
management area have expressed uncertainty as to the regulatory intent, 
Sec. 672.7(k) is clarified to specify that this prohibition applies 
only to vessels that fished in the GOA.

Classification

    Because this rule clarifies the regulation to make its text 
consistent with the intent set forth in its preamble, it is an 
interpretive rule that may be published without notice and opportunity 
for comment and without a 30-day delay in effective date under section 
553 of the Administrative Procedure Act (5 U.S.C. 553).
    This rule is exempt from review under E.O. 12866.

List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 672

    Fisheries, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.

    Dated: September 27, 1994.
Gary Matlock,
Program Management Officer, National Marine Fisheries Service.

    For the reasons set out in the preamble, 50 CFR part 672 is amended 
as follows:

PART 672--GROUNDFISH OF THE GULF OF ALASKA

    1. The authority citation for 50 CFR part 672 continues to read as 
follows:

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

    2. In Sec. 672.7, paragraph (k) is revised to read as follows:


Sec. 672.7  Prohibitions.

* * * * *
    (k) Engage in directed fishing for sablefish with hook-and-line 
gear from a vessel that was used to deploy hook-and-line gear in the 
Gulf of Alaska within 72 hours prior to the opening of the sablefish 
hook-and-line directed fishery.
* * * * *

[FR Doc. 94-24381 Filed 9-30-94; 8:45 am]
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