[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 230 (Tuesday, December 1, 1998)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 66111-66112]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-32018]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 660
[I.D. 112498A]
RIN 0648-AL52
Fisheries Off West Coast States and in the Western Pacific;
Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery; Amendment 11
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Notice of availability of an amendment to a fishery management
plan; request for comments.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: NMFS announces that the Pacific Fishery Management Council
(Council) has submitted Amendment 11 to the Pacific Coast Groundfish
Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for Secretarial review. The amendment was
prepared with the intention of bringing the FMP into compliance with
provisions of the Sustainable Fisheries Act (SFA) regarding
overfishing, bycatch, essential fish habitat, and fishing communities.
This action also is intended to improve the types and amounts of
scientific information available for use in stock assessments and
management of the Pacific coast groundfish fishery.
DATES: Comments on Amendment 11 must be received on or before February
1, 1999.
ADDRESSES: Comments on Amendment 11 or supporting documents should be
sent to William Stelle, Administrator, Northwest Region, NMFS, Sand
Point Way NE., BIN C15700, Seattle, WA 98115-0070; or to William
Hogarth, Administrator, Southwest Region, NMFS, 501 West Ocean
Boulevard, Suite 4200, Long Beach, CA 90802-4213.
Copies of Amendment 11 and the Environmental Assessment/ Regulatory
Impact Review are available from Larry Six, Executive Director, Pacific
Fishery Management Council, 2130 SW Fifth Ave., Suite 224, Portland, OR
97201.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Yvonne deReynier at 206-526-6140, Jim
Morgan at 562-980-4000, or the Pacific Fishery Management Council at
503-326-6352.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation
and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act) requires that each Regional
Fishery Management Council submit any amendment to an FMP to NMFS for
review and approval,
[[Page 66112]]
disapproval, or partial approval. The Magnuson-Stevens Act also
requires that NMFS, upon receiving an amendment, immediately publish a
notice in the Federal Register that the amendment is available for
public review and comment. NMFS will consider the public comments
received during the comment period described above in determining
whether to approve the amendment for implementation.
The SFA amended the requirements for FMPs in section 303(a) of the
Magnuson-Stevens Act. The SFA established a 2-year deadline (October
11, 1998) by which each Regional Fishery Management Council had to
submit amendments to NMFS to bring all the FMPs into compliance with
the SFA/Magnuson-Stevens Act requirements.
Amendment 11 seeks to make the Pacific Coast Groundfish FMP
consistent with the Magnuson-Stevens Act by: amending the FMP framework
that defines ``optimum yield'' for setting annual groundfish harvest
limits; setting framework control rules on defining rates of
``overfishing'' and levels at which managed stocks are considered
``overfished;'' defining Pacific Coast groundfish essential fish
habitat; setting a bycatch management objective and a framework for
bycatch reduction measures; establishing a management objective to take
the importance of fisheries to fishing communities into account when
setting groundfish management measures; providing authority within the
FMP for the Council to require groundfish use permits for all
groundfish users; authorizing the use of fish for compensation for
private vessels conducting NMFS-approved research; removing jack
mackerel from the fishery management unit; and updating FMP objectives,
definitions and industry descriptions.
Public comments on Amendment 11 must be received by February 1,
1999 to be considered by NMFS in the decision to approve/disapprove
Amendment 11. A proposed rule to implement Amendment 11 has been
submitted for Secretarial review and approval. NMFS expects to publish
and request public comment on proposed regulations to implement
Amendment 11 in the near future.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
Dated: November 25, 1998.
Gary C. Matlock,
Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries
Service.
[FR Doc. 98-32018 Filed 11-30-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-F
