Limited Access Management of Federal Fisheries In and Off of Alaska

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 676

[I.D. 060994B]

Limited Access Management of Federal Fisheries In and Off of

Alaska

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of availability of amendments to Fishery Management

Plans and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: NMFS announces that the North Pacific Fishery Management

Council (Council) has submitted Amendment 31 to the Fishery Management

Plan (FMP) for the Groundfish Fishery of the Bering Sea and Aleutian

Islands Area (BSAI) and Amendment 35 to the FMP for Groundfish of the

Gulf of Alaska (GOA) for Secretarial review and is requesting comments

from the public. These amendments would implement the Modified Block

proposal, an action intended to discourage excessive consolidation in

the Pacific halibut and sablefish individual fishing quota (IFQ)

program.

DATES: Comments on the FMP amendments should be submitted by August 12,

1994.

ADDRESSES: Comments on the FMP amendments should be submitted to Ronald

J. Berg, Chief, Fisheries Management Division, Alaska Region, NMFS, 709

W. 9th, Room 453, Juneau, AK 99801 or P.O. Box 21668, Juneau, AK 99802,

Attention: Lori J. Gravel. Copies of the amendments and the

environmental assessment/regulatory impact review/initial regulatory

flexibility analysis prepared for the amendments are available from the

Council, P.O. Box 103136, Anchorage, AK 99510.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: John Lepore, 907-586-7228.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Magnuson Fishery Conservation and

Management Act (Magnuson Act) requires that each Regional Fishery

Management Council submit any fishery management plan or plan amendment

it prepares to the Secretary of Commerce (Secretary) for review and

approval, disapproval, or partial disapproval. The Magnuson Act also

requires that the Secretary, upon reviewing the plan or amendment, must

immediately publish a notice that the plan or amendment is available

for public review and comment. The Secretary will consider the public

comments received during the comment period in determining whether to

approve the plan or amendment.

Amendments 31 and 35 to the respective FMPs would implement the

Modified Block proposal to the Pacific halibut and sablefish IFQ

program. These amendments would authorize the issuance of quota share

(QS) blocks for QS that would have resulted in less than 20,000 lb (9

mt) of IFQ based on the 1994 total allowable catch for fixed gear in

the halibut and sablefish fisheries, allow the combination of QS blocks

that are less than 1,000 lb (0.5 mt) of IFQ for halibut and less than

3,000 lb (1.4 mt) for sablefish, and restrict the amount of blocks that

may be held in any one IFQ regulatory area. These amendments are

intended to prevent excessive consolidation of the Pacific halibut and

sablefish fisheries off Alaska, and are consistent with the management

objectives of the Magnuson Act and the Northern Pacific Halibut Act.

Dated: June 13, 1994.

David S. Crestin,

Acting Director, Office of Fisheries Conservation and Management,

National Marine Fisheries Service.

[FR Doc. 94-14724 Filed 6-13-94; 4:36 pm]

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