[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 222 (Friday, November 15, 1996)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Page 58508]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-29247]
[[Page 58508]]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 648
[I.D. 103196B]
Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Amendment 6 to the
Atlantic Mackerel, Squid, and Butterfish Fisheries
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Notice of availability; request for comments.
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SUMMARY: NMFS announces that the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management
Council (Council) has submitted Amendment 6 to the Fishery Management
Plan for the Atlantic Mackerel, Squid, and Butterfish Fisheries for
Secretarial review and is requesting comments from the public.
Amendment 6 is intended to implement management measures to prevent
overfishing of the Atlantic squids and butterfish and to allow for
seasonal restrictions in the Illex squid fishery to improve yield per
recruit.
DATES: Comments on Amendment 6 must be received on or before January
14, 1997.
ADDRESSES: Send comments to Dr. Andrew A. Rosenberg, Regional
Administrator, NMFS, Northeast Regional Office, One Blackburn Drive,
Gloucester, MA 01930-3799. Mark the outside of the envelope ``Comments
on SMB 6''.
Copies of Amendment 6, the environmental assessment, and the
regulatory impact review are available from David R. Keifer, Executive
Director, Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council, Room 2115 Federal
Building, 300 S. New Street, Dover, DE 19904-6790.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Myles Raizin, Fishery Policy Analyst,
508-281-9104.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation
and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.) (Magnuson-Stevens Act)
requires that each regional fishery management council submit any
fishery management plan or plan amendment it prepares to NMFS, on
behalf of the Secretary of Commerce, for review. The Magnuson-Stevens
Act also requires that NMFS, upon receiving the plan or amendment for
review, immediately publish a document that the plan or plan amendment
is available for public review and comment. NMFS will consider the
public comments received during the comment period in determining
whether to approve the plan or amendment.
Amendment 6 would revise overfishing definitions for Loligo and
Illex squid, and butterfish, adjust the fishery closure trigger for
these species from 80 percent to 95 percent of domestic annual harvest,
revise limits on bycatch of these species when a fishery is closed, and
establish a mechanism for seasonal closures in the Illex squid fishery.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
Dated: November 8, 1996.
Bruce Morehead,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 96-29247 Filed 11-8-96; 4:06 pm]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-F
