Amendment 49 to the Fishery Management Plan for Groundfish Fishery of the Gulf of Alaska

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 679

[I.D. 072297A]

RIN: 0648-AJ71

Amendment 49 to the Fishery Management Plan for Groundfish

Fishery of the Gulf of Alaska

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 Groundfish of

the Gulf of Alaska for Secretarial review. Amendment 49 would require

all vessels fishing for groundfish in the Gulf of Alaska (GOA) to

retain all

[[Page 40498]]

pollock and Pacific cod beginning January 1, 1998, and all shallow-

water flatfish 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 shallow-

water flatfish beginning January 1, 2003. Comments from the public are

requested.

DATES: Comments on Amendment 49 must be submitted on or before

September 29, 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 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, which the fishing industry and the Council feel the

necessity to address.

In September 1996, after extensive debate and public testimony, the

Council adopted an Improved Retention/Improved Utilization (IR/IU)

program as Amendment 49 to the FMP for the Groundfish Fishery in the

Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Area (BSAI). A proposed rule to

implement Amendment 49 in the BSAI was published in the Federal

Register on June 26, 1997 (62 FR 34429). In June 1997, the Council

adopted a parallel IR/IU program as Amendment 49 for the GOA. The

retention requirement adopted by the Council for the GOA would require

full retention of pollock and Pacific cod beginning January 1, 1998,

and full retention of shallow-water flatfish beginning January 1, 2003.

The utilization requirement adopted by the Council would require that

the above 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 to be implemented through state

regulations.

NMFS will consider the public comments received during the comment

period in determining whether to approve Amendment 49. A proposed rule

to implement Amendment 49 is scheduled to be published within 15 days

of this document.

Dated: July 23, 1997.

Bruce C. Morehead,

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine

Fisheries Service.

[FR Doc. 97-19847 Filed 7-28-97; 8:45 am]

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