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[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 146 (Wednesday, July 30, 1997)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 40753-40754]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-20042]

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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 300

(Docket No. ; I.D. 021197C)

International Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries; 
Implementation Plan

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of final implementation plan.

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SUMMARY: On July 25, 1996, NMFS announced the availability of a Draft 
Implementation Plan for the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries 
(Implementation Plan) in the Federal Register 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, in 
October 1996, the Congress passed the Sustainable Fisheries Act (SFA) 
which contained numerous and significant amendments to the Magnuson-
Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act; and, second, NOAA/NMFS 
moved into the final and substantive phase of its long-term program 
planning exercise, the NOAA Fisheries Strategic Plan (Strategic Plan).
    The requirements of the SFA and the Strategic Plan point in the 
same directions as the Code of Conduct. In effect, NMFS will implement 
the Code of Conduct domestically as it carries out its Congressionally 
mandated responsibilities and the objectives of the Strategic Plan. 
Accordingly, NMFS redrafted the Implementation Plan, taking into 
account (1) the comments received on the first draft; (2) the guidance 
provided by Congress in the SFA; and (3) the long-term program planning 
that was being developed through the Strategic Plan.
    The revised Implementation Plan was made available for public 
comment in a Federal Register notice on March 12, 1997 (62 FR 11410), 
and comments were requested by April 28, 1997. The public may request a 
copy of the final plan (see ADDRESSES) or access it on the NMFS home 
page at http://www.nmfs.gov.

ADDRESSES: Questions regarding this document may be directed 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, 3O1-713-2276.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: For background and rationale for the 
Implementation Plan, please refer to the notices of availability 
published on July 25, 1996 (61 FR 38703) and March 12, 1997
    (62 FR 11410).

Comments and Responses

    Five written comments were received regarding the proposed 
Implementation Plan. All were generally supportive of the 
Implementation Plan but made specific suggestions about various of its 
provisions. Specific comments and responses are given below:
     Comment: One response urged that the Implementation Plan should be

[[Page 40754]]

actively supported and implemented by all the Federal and state 
agencies involved in marine fisheries and recommended that NMFS strive 
to include these agencies and upgrade the document from an NMFS to a 
United States Government Implementation Plan.
     Response: NMFS has determined that, since it is the Federal agency 
responsible for marine fisheries, it is appropriate at this time for 
NMFS to take the lead in implementation of the
    Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries and move forward with its 
Implementation Plan. At the same time, NMFS will work closely with 
other Federal, state, and local agencies on various elements of the 
Implementation Plan, as noted in the Implementation Plan. The intent to 
collaborate closely with these other government agencies, especially 
with respect to fisheries management, marine aquaculture, international 
fisheries agreements, and trade is stressed in the Implementation Plan.
     Comment: One response recommended that the treatment of 
aquaculture be more detailed, proactively developmental, less 
regulatory, and more specific about resources that NMFS can make 
available in this area.
     Response: The final Implementation Plan's treatment of aquaculture 
reflects the fact that, in April 1997, the Strategic Plan was approved, 
with a significantly modified section on marine aquaculture 
development. Therefore, the revised Implementation Plan includes more 
specific information regarding the NMFS marine aquaculture objective: 
To promote robust and environmentally sound aquaculture.
     Comment: One comment was critical of the prominence assigned to 
individual transferable quotas (ITQs) as a means to deal effectively 
with overfishing and overcapitalization.
     Response: NMFS believes that ITQs are a potentially useful 
management tool. However, largely in view of the fact that the SFA 
mandates that the National Academy of Sciences conduct a study of their 
effectiveness, NMFS agreed to identify ITQs as a type of limited entry 
in the revised Implementation Plan.
     Comment: Some comments noted that the Implementation Plan 
generally dealt more with goals than with the specific means to reach 
those goals and suggested that it should be more forthcoming about 
particular action steps.
     Response: In some instances, it was felt that the comment had some 
validity, and the Implementation Plan was modified. As examples, the 
treatments of aquaculture, recreational fisheries, and the agency's 
obligations under the Convention for International Trade in Endangered 
Species and the Endangered Species Act are stated with greater 
specificity. More generally, an entirely new section was added to the 
end of the Implementation Plan, ``Implementation Steps,'' that details 
the agency's resolve to work with all our constituencies, mainly 
through the regional Fishery Management Councils, to develop specific 
implementation plans on certain issues. On the other hand, NMFS is 
presently unable to spell out precise action steps in all areas for a 
variety of reasons, including the needs to complete Congressionally 
mandated studies, and to await future appropriation decisions.

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

    Dated: July 21, 1997.
David Evans,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries 
Service.
[FR Doc. 97-20042 Filed 7-29-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-F
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