[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 54 (Tuesday, March 19, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Page 11189]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-6488]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
[I.D. 031396A]
Limited Access Management of Federal Fisheries In and Off of
Alaska; Season Opening
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Notice of fishing season dates.
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SUMMARY: NMFS is opening the directed fishery for sablefish with fixed
gear managed under the Individual Fishing Quota (IFQ) program. The
season will open on 12:00 noon, Alaska local time (A.l.t.), March 15,
1996, and will close 12:00 noon, A.l.t., November 15, 1996. This period
runs concurrently with the IFQ season for Pacific halibut announced by
the International Pacific Halibut Commission (IPHC).
EFFECTIVE DATE: March 15, 1996, 12:00 noon, A.l.t., through November
15, 1996, 12:00 noon, A.l.t.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: John Lepore, 907-586-7228.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Beginning in 1995, fishing for Pacific
halibut (Hippoglossus stenolepis) and sablefish (Anoplopoma fimbria)
with fixed gear in the IFQ regulatory areas defined in Sec. 676.11 have
been managed under the IFQ Program. The IFQ Program is a regulatory
regime designed to promote the conservation and management of these
fisheries and to further the objectives of the Magnuson Fishery
Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.) and the
Northern Pacific Halibut Act (16 U.S.C. 773-773k). Persons holding
quota share, which represents a transferable harvest privilege, receive
an annual allocation of IFQ. Persons receiving an annual allocation of
IFQ are authorized to harvest IFQ species within specified limitations.
Further information on the implementation of the IFQ Program, and the
rationale supporting it, is contained in the preamble to the final rule
implementing the IFQ Program published in the Federal Register,
November 9, 1993 (58 FR 59375) and subsequent amendments.
This announcement is consistent with Sec. 676.23(b), which requires
that directed fishing for sablefish managed under the IFQ program be
announced by the Director, Alaska Region, NMFS by publication in the
Federal Register. This method of season announcement was selected to
facilitate coordination between the sablefish season, chosen by the
Director, Alaska Region, NMFS and the halibut season, chosen by the
IPHC. The directed fishing season for sablefish with fixed gear managed
under the IFQ program will open on 12:00 noon, A.l.t., March 15, 1996,
and will close 12:00 noon, A.l.t., November 15, 1996. This period runs
concurrently with the IFQ season for Pacific halibut announced by the
IPHC.
Dated: March 13, 1996.
Richard W. Surdi,
Acting Director, Office of Fisheries Conservation and Management,
National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 96-6488 Filed 3-18-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-F
