[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 108 (Thursday, June 5, 1997)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 30835-30836]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-14661]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 679
[I.D. 052997B]
RIN: 0648-AJ36
Amendment 49 to the Fishery Management Plan for the Groundfish
Fishery in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Area
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.
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SUMMARY: The North Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) has
submitted Amendment 49 to the Fishery Management Plan for the
Groundfish Fishery in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Area for
Secretarial review. Amendment 49 would require all vessels fishing for
groundfish in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Area to retain all
pollock and Pacific cod beginning January 1, 1998, and all rock sole
and yellowfin sole beginning January 1, 2003. Amendment 49 also would
establish minimum utilization standards for all at-sea processors; for
pollock and Pacific cod beginning January 1, 1998, and for rock sole
and yellowfin sole beginning January 1, 2003. Comments from the public
are requested.
[[Page 30836]]
DATES: Comments on Amendment 49 must be submitted on or before August
4, 1997.
ADDRESSES: Comments on Amendment 49 should be submitted to Ronald J.
Berg, Chief, Fisheries Management Division, Alaska Region, NMFS, P.O.
Box 21668, Juneau, AK 99802-1668, Attn: Lori Gravel, or delivered to
the Federal Building, 709 West 9th. Street, Juneau, AK. Copies of
Amendment 49 and the Environmental Assessment/Regulatory Impact Review/
Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis prepared for the amendment are
available from NMFS at the above address, or by calling the Alaska
Region, NMFS, at 907-586-7228.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kent Lind, 907-586-7228.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation
and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act) requires that each Regional
Fishery Management Council submit any fishery management plan (FMP) or
plan amendment it prepares to NMFS for review and approval,
disapproval, or partial approval. The Magnuson-Stevens Act also
requires that NMFS, upon receiving an FMP or amendment, immediately
publish a document announcing that the FMP or 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 FMP or amendment.
Amendment 49 is the result of over 3 years of specific discussions
and analyses of alternative solutions to the discard problem occurring
in the groundfish fisheries off Alaska. The expressed intent of the
Council is to implement a program that ``would provide an incentive for
fishermen to avoid unwanted catch, increase utilization of fish that
are taken, and thus reduce discards of whole fish.'' While such
discards are counted against the overall total allowable catch
established for each species and therefore do not represent a direct
biological concern, they do represent foregone harvest opportunities
for other fishing operations which might otherwise target and utilize
those fish. In addition, high levels of discards represent an important
social policy issue, one that the fishing industry and the Council feel
the necessity to address.
In September 1996, after extensive debate and public testimony, the
Council approved an Improved Retention/Improved Utilization (IR/IU)
program as Amendment 49 to the Fishery Management Plan for the
Groundfish Fishery in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Area. The
retention requirement adopted by the Council would require full
retention of pollock and Pacific cod beginning January 1, 1998, and
full retention of rock sole and yellowfin sole beginning January 1,
2003. The utilization requirement adopted by the Council would require
that all IR/IU species either be (1) processed at sea subject to
minimum recovery rates and/or requirements to be specified by
regulation, or (2) delivered in their entirety to onshore processing
plants for which similar minimum requirements are implemented through
state regulations.
NMFS will consider the public comments received during the comment
period in determining whether to approve the proposed amendment. A
proposed rule to implement Amendment 49 is scheduled to be published
within 15 days of this document.
Dated: May 30, 1997.
Bruce Morehead,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 97-14661 Filed 6-4-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-F
