E7-17772. Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone Off Alaska; Allocating Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Area Fishery Resources; Notice of Amendment 80 Public Workshop

AGENCY:

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

ACTION:

Notification of public workshop.

SUMMARY:

NMFS will present a public workshop on the implementation of the Amendment 80 Program (Program) for potentially eligible participants and other interested parties. The Program implements a limited access privilege program (LAPP) for specific groundfish fisheries in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands management area (BSAI). At the workshop, NMFS will provide an overview of the Program, discuss the key Program elements, describe the process for participating in the Program, and answer questions. NMFS is conducting this public workshop to provide assistance to fishery participants in understanding and reviewing this Program.

DATES:

The workshop will be held on Monday, September 24, 2007, 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Pacific standard time.

ADDRESSES:

The workshop will be held at the Swedish Cultural Center, 1920 Dexter Avenue N., Seattle, WA 98109.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Glenn Merrill, 907-586-7228 or [e-mail].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

NMFS will publish a final rule that will implement a LAPP for Amendment 80 to the Fishery Management Plan for BSAI Groundfish (FMP) in mid-September, 2007. Among other things, Amendment 80 will allocate specific BSAI groundfish resources among a defined group of harvesters under a LAPP; limit the bycatch of halibut and crab resources; assign Amendment 80 quota share (QS) that can be used to yield an exclusive harvest privilege on an annual basis; allow Amendment 80 QS holders to form a cooperative with other Amendment 80 QS holders on an annual basis to receive an exclusive harvest privilege; implement use caps to limit the amount of Amendment 80 QS a person can hold; limit the total amount of catch in other groundfish fisheries that could be taken by participants in the Program; ensure minimum retention of groundfish while fishing in the BSAI; and establish necessary monitoring and enforcement standards.

Amendment 80 was approved by the North Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) on June 9, 2006. NMFS published a proposed rule to implement the Program on May 30, 2007 (72 FR 30052). The Secretary of Commerce approved Amendment 80 on July 26, 2007. The Program implements Amendment 80 and also meets the requirements of:

• Section 219 of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2005 (Public Law 108-447; December 8, 2004), which defined the Amendment 80 sector and implemented a capacity reduction program for several catcher/processor sectors;
• Section 416 of the Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Act of 2006 (Public Law 109-241; July 11, 2006), which amended provisions of the Community Development Quota (CDQ) Program in the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act; and
• The Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Reauthorization Act (Public Law 109-479, January 12, 2007), which modified provisions related to the CDQ Program and instituted other measures applicable to LAPPs.

NMFS is conducting a public workshop to provide assistance to fishery participants in reviewing the requirements of the Program. At the workshop, NMFS will provide an overview of the Program, and discuss the key Program elements, including quota share application; cooperative and limited access participation provisions; cooperative quota transfer provisions; the appeals process; monitoring and enforcement; and electronic reporting. Additionally, NMFS will answer questions from workshop participants. For further information on the Program, please visit the NMFS Alaska Region website at http://www.fakr.noaa.gov.

Special Accommodations

This workshop is physically accessible to people with disabilities. Requests for special accommodations should be directed to Glenn Merrill (see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT) at least 5 working days before the workshop date.

Dated: September 4, 2007.

Emily H. Menashes

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service.