[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 145 (Tuesday, July 29, 1997)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 40497-40498]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-19847]


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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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