[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 140 (Friday, July 21, 1995)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 37623-37624]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-17922]
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[[Page 37624]]
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 641
[I.D. 071395A]
Reef Fish Fishery of the Gulf of Mexico; Amendment 8
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: NMFS announces that the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management
Council has submitted Amendment 8 to the Fishery Management Plan for
the Reef Fish Resources of the Gulf of Mexico (FMP) for review,
approval, and implementation by NMFS. Written comments are requested
from the public.
DATES: Written comments must be received on or before September 15,
1995.
ADDRESSES: Comments must be mailed to the Southeast Regional Office,
NMFS, 9721 Executive Center Drive N., St. Petersburg, FL 33702.
Requests for copies of Amendment 8, which includes an environmental
assessment, a regulatory impact review, and an initial regulatory
flexibility analysis, and for copies of a minority report submitted by
three members of the Council, should be sent to the Gulf of Mexico
Fishery Management Council, 5401 W. Kennedy Boulevard, Suite 331,
Tampa, FL 33609-2486, FAX: 813-225-7015.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Robert Sadler, 813-570-5305.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Magnuson Fishery Conservation and
Management Act (Magnuson Act), requires that a council-prepared
amendment to a fishery management plan be submitted to NMFS for review
and approval, disapproval, or partial disapproval. The Magnuson Act
also requires that NMFS, upon receiving an amendment, immediately
publish a document that the amendment is available for public review
and comment.
Amendment 8 to the FMP proposes a limited entry program for the
commercial red snapper sector of the reef fish fishery in the Gulf of
Mexico. Initial participants in the limited entry program would receive
shares of the commercial quota of red snapper based on specified
criteria. The percentage shares of the commercial quota would be
equivalent to individual transferable quotas.
The Director, Southeast Region, NMFS, based on a preliminary
evaluation of Amendment 8, has disapproved three amendment measures
because the measures were determined to be inconsistent with the
Magnuson Act and other applicable law. The disapproved measures
included: (1) An appeals panel to consider hardships in determining
eligibility for and amount of initial shares; (2) a provision that up
to 3 percent of the initial commercial allocation of red snapper be set
aside for resolving hardship cases; and (3) a restriction that transfer
of shares be limited to ``natural persons,'' thus precluding
corporations or partnerships from obtaining shares.
A minority report signed by three Council members raised various
objections to Amendment 8.
Proposed regulations to implement those measures of Amendment 8
that were not disapproved based on the preliminary evaluation are
scheduled for publication within 15 days.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
Dated: July 17, 1995.
Richard W. Surdi,
Acting Director, Office of Fisheries Conservation and Management,
National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 95-17922 Filed 7-17-95; 4:31 pm]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-F
