International Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries; Second Draft Implementation Plan

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 300

[I.D. 021197C]

International Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries; Second

Draft Implementation Plan

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: NMFS announces the availability of a second Draft

Implementation Plan (Plan) for the Code of Conduct for Responsible

Fisheries (Code) and invites review and comment. The purpose and

intended effect of this action is to improve the document and inform

the public of its content.

DATES: Comments should be submitted on or before April 28, 1997

ADDRESSES: Send comments to Matteo Milazzo, International Fisheries

Division, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, NMFS, 1315 East-West

Highway, Silver Spring, MD 20910.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Matteo Milazzo, 301-713-2276.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On July 25, 1996, NMFS announced the

availability of an initial Plan for the Code in the Federal Register

(61 FR 38703) and requested comments by September 23, 1996. At the

close of this period, it became clear that several of the public

comments raised substantive issues. During the same period, two other

relevant developments took place. First, the Congress passed numerous

and significant amendments to the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation

and Management Act in the form of the Sustainable Fisheries Act (SFA)

and, second, NOAA/NMFS moved into the final and substantive phase of

its long-term program planning exercise, the NMFS Fisheries Strategic

Plan.

The requirements of the SFA and the Strategic Plan point in the

same directions as the Code. In effect, NMFS will implement the Code

domestically as it carries out its Congressionally mandated

responsibilities and the objectives of the Strategic Plan. Accordingly,

NMFS has redrafted the Plan, taking into account (1) the comments

received on the first draft; (2) the guidance provided by Congress in

the Sustainable Fisheries Act; and (3) the long-term program planning

that is being developed through the NMFS Fisheries Strategic Plan.

With this notice, NMFS notifies the public of the second draft's

availability for comment. It includes the Agency's definition of a

sustainable fishery, i.e., one in which the rate or level of fishing

mortality does not jeopardize the capacity of the fishery to produce

the maximum sustainable yield on a continuing basis.

For further background and rationale for the Plan, please refer to

the notice of availability published on July 25, 1996.

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

Dated: March 6, 1997.

Nancy Foster,

Deputy Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries

Service.

[FR Doc. 97-6193 Filed 3-11-97; 8:45 am]

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