Groundfish of the Gulf of Alaska; Pacific Ocean Perch; Amendment 38

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 679

[I.D. 062596B]

RIN 0648-AH68

Groundfish of the Gulf of Alaska; Pacific Ocean Perch; Amendment

38

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

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of availability; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The North Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) has

submitted Amendment 38 to the Fishery Management Plan for Groundfish of

the Gulf of Alaska (FMP) for Secretarial review. Amendment 38 would

provide the flexibility for the Council to recommend a total allowable

catch amount for Pacific ocean perch (POP) below the level currently

established in the FMP. NMFS is requesting comments from the public on

the proposed amendment. Copies of the amendment may be obtained from

the Council (see ADDRESSES).

DATES: Comments on the FMP amendment should be submitted on or before

August 30, 1996.

ADDRESSES: Comments on the FMP amendment 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 38 and the environmental assessment and the

economic analysis prepared for the amendment are available from the

North Pacific Fishery Management Council, 605 W 4th Ave., Suite 306,

Anchorage, AK 99501-2252; telephone: 907-271-2809.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kaja Brix, 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 receiving a fishery management plan

or amendment, immediately publish a notice that the fishery management

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 FMP or amendment.

Decline of the POP stock since the early period of the foreign

fishery (mid 1960's) prompted the Council to recommend a rebuilding

plan for POP. The Pacific Ocean Perch Rebuilding Plan (Rebuilding Plan)

was established in Amendment 32 to the FMP. Details of the

justification for the Rebuilding Plan can be found in the Notice of

Availability for Amendment 32 (59 FR 295; January 4, 1994). The POP

Rebuilding Plan provides a specific rebuilding strategy for POP stocks,

based on available biological and economic information. The Rebuilding

Plan establishes a formula to determine annually the POP TAC, which is

then apportioned among Gulf of Alaska (GOA) regulatory areas based on

biomass distribution. However, the amendment does not provide for any

flexibility to reduce the TAC below the amount specified by the

formula.

Under the current Rebuilding Plan, the potential exists for the

calculated TAC to be greater than the acceptable biological catch

(ABC), which would be inconsistent with the current management practice

for other groundfish stocks. The Council has also expressed concern

that it does not have the flexibility to lower the POP TAC under the

Rebuilding Plan to accomodate other resource conservation concerns.

Therefore, the Council adopted Amendment 38 to the FMP at its December

1995 meeting. Amendment 38 would not prescribe a TAC lower than that

specified by the formula; however, it would allow the Council the

flexibility to recommend a TAC below the level of the specified formula

in one or more GOA regulatory areas or districts. To be consistent with

the Rebuilding Plan for POP, any downward adjustment of TAC would be

based on biological or resource conservation concerns.

Under the Rebuilding Plan, an ABC is set for POP in the GOA and

this ABC is apportioned among regulatory areas based on biomass

distribution. The TAC is determined using the formula and is then

apportioned to each regulatory area according to the percentage biomass

distribution used for the ABC apportionment.

Under Amendment 38, once the TAC is apportioned among regulatory

areas, as specified by the current FMP, the Council could recommend a

further downward adjustment of the POP TAC in one or more of the GOA

regulatory areas or districts. Any downward adjustments would be based

on biological or resource conservation concerns about the POP resource

or associated with the POP fishery that are not accounted for in the

Rebuilding Plan or the annual Stock Assessment and Fishery Evaluation

(SAFE) reports, or to maintain the TAC below the ABC. NMFS will

consider information provided by a recognized scientific body such as

the Council's Scientific and Statistical Committee, Plan Team, or by

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NMFS stock assessment scientists regarding any downward adjustment of

the TAC.

The FMP amendment would only give the Council the alternative of

recommending a lower POP TAC in the annual specifications process to

address biological or resource conservation concerns that are not

addressed under the Rebuilding Plan or SAFE reports. If socioeconomic

concerns exist with respect to the management of the POP fishery,

particularly in the Eastern GOA, the Council would need to consider a

separate amendment to address these issues.

Amendment 38 is intended to improve conservation and management of

POP and to further the goals and objectives of the FMP. No regulatory

changes are necessary to implement this FMP amendment. The TAC would be

considered for implemention during the annual specification process

under regulations at Sec. 679.20(c).

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

Dated: June 27, 1996.

Richard W. Surdi,

Acting Director, Office of Fisheries Conservation and Management,

National Marine Fisheries Service.

[FR Doc. 96-17123 Filed 7-1-96; 3:18 pm]

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