94-14469. North Pacific Scallop Fisheries

[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 114 (Wednesday, June 15, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-14469]


[[Page Unknown]]

[Federal Register: June 15, 1994]


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AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
[Docket No. 940666-4166; I.D. 052094A]

 

North Pacific Scallop Fisheries

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

ACTION: Notice of control date.

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SUMMARY: NMFS announces a control date of April 24, 1994, after which 
scallop harvests made in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) off Alaska 
may not apply as catch history for purposes of any future individual 
fishing quota (IFQ) or licenses in anticipation of a future limited-
access program for this fishery. This notice is to notify the public of 
possible eligibility criteria for future access to the scallop 
resources in the EEZ off Alaska. The intended effect of announcing this 
control date is to provide the public with information for making 
future business decisions.

EFFECTIVE DATE: April 24, 1994.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Chris Oliver, 907-271-2809, or David 
Ham, 907-586-7229.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The scallop fisheries off Alaska are managed 
by the State of Alaska (State). Access to these fisheries is not 
limited or controlled by the State at this time. State regulations 
governing fishing for scallops off Alaska are set forth in the Alaska 
Administrative Code, Title 5, Chapter 38.
    At its meeting of April 19-24, 1994, the North Pacific Fishery 
Management Council (Council) approved a motion to develop and implement 
a Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for scallops in the EEZ off Alaska. The 
proposed FMP would include all scallop species and would be implemented 
cooperatively by State and Federal agencies. A 3-year moratorium on the 
entry of new vessels into the scallop fisheries is also included in the 
proposed FMP, and would be implemented through the issuance of Federal 
scallop vessel permits. The intent of the proposed vessel moratorium is 
to stabilize the size and harvesting capacity of the scallop fleet 
while the Council considers other limited access alternatives for this 
fishery.
    The Council requested NMFS to publish a document in the Federal 
Register announcing that scallop harvests made in the EEZ off Alaska 
after April 24, 1994, may not apply as catch history for purposes of 
any future limited access program that may follow the moratorium. The 
intended effect of announcing this control date is to discourage 
speculative entry into the scallop fisheries for the purposes of 
qualifying for a future IFQ program or license limitation program and 
to discourage increased fishing effort and accumulation of catch 
history in anticipation of a possible IFQ program in the future.
    Fishermen or vessels who made landings prior to this date are not 
necessarily guaranteed access under any future limited access program 
developed by the Council or NMFS. This announcement does not prevent 
any other date for eligibility in these fisheries or another method of 
controlling fishing effort from being proposed and implemented by NMFS. 
The Council may recommend additional criteria for qualifying fishermen 
or vessels as participants in these fisheries.
    This notifies current and future participants in these fisheries 
that the Council has begun deliberations that may affect the success of 
investments in these fisheries. This announcement does not commit the 
Council or NMFS to any particular management regime or priority 
criteria for access to the scallop fisheries in the EEZ off Alaska. 
Additionally, the Council may choose to take no action to control entry 
or access to these fisheries.

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

    Dated: June 9, 1994.
Nancy Foster,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries 
Service.
[FR Doc. 94-14469 Filed 6-14-94; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-F