[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 48 (Wednesday, March 12, 1997)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Page 11410]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-6193]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 300
[I.D. 021197C]
International Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries; Second
Draft Implementation Plan
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 the availability of a second Draft
Implementation Plan (Plan) for the Code of Conduct for Responsible
Fisheries (Code) and invites review and comment. The purpose and
intended effect of this action is to improve the document and inform
the public of its content.
DATES: Comments should be submitted on or before April 28, 1997
ADDRESSES: Send comments to Matteo Milazzo, International Fisheries
Division, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, NMFS, 1315 East-West
Highway, Silver Spring, MD 20910.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Matteo Milazzo, 301-713-2276.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On July 25, 1996, NMFS announced the
availability of an initial Plan for the Code in the Federal Register
(61 FR 38703) and requested comments by September 23, 1996. At the
close of this period, it became clear that several of the public
comments raised substantive issues. During the same period, two other
relevant developments took place. First, the Congress passed numerous
and significant amendments to the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation
and Management Act in the form of the Sustainable Fisheries Act (SFA)
and, second, NOAA/NMFS moved into the final and substantive phase of
its long-term program planning exercise, the NMFS Fisheries Strategic
Plan.
The requirements of the SFA and the Strategic Plan point in the
same directions as the Code. In effect, NMFS will implement the Code
domestically as it carries out its Congressionally mandated
responsibilities and the objectives of the Strategic Plan. Accordingly,
NMFS has redrafted the Plan, taking into account (1) the comments
received on the first draft; (2) the guidance provided by Congress in
the Sustainable Fisheries Act; and (3) the long-term program planning
that is being developed through the NMFS Fisheries Strategic Plan.
With this notice, NMFS notifies the public of the second draft's
availability for comment. It includes the Agency's definition of a
sustainable fishery, i.e., one in which the rate or level of fishing
mortality does not jeopardize the capacity of the fishery to produce
the maximum sustainable yield on a continuing basis.
For further background and rationale for the Plan, please refer to
the notice of availability published on July 25, 1996.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
Dated: March 6, 1997.
Nancy Foster,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries
Service.
[FR Doc. 97-6193 Filed 3-11-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-F
