[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 185 (Friday, September 22, 2000)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Page 57308]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-24458]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 660

[I.D. 091800E]
RIN 0648-AO41


Fisheries off West Coast States and in the Western Pacific; 
Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery; Amendment 13

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.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: NMFS announces that the Pacific Fishery Management Council 
(Council) has submitted Amendment 13 to the Pacific Coast Groundfish 
Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for Secretarial review. Amendment 13 is 
intended to make the FMP consistent with Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 
Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act) bycatch 
provisions,to increase flexibility in the annual management measures 
framework to manage for protection of overfished and depleted stocks, 
and to remove outdated and unused limited entry permit endorsements.

DATES: Comments on Amendment 13 must be received on or before November 
21, 2000.

ADDRESSES: Comments on Amendment 13 or supporting documents should be 
sent to Donna Darm, Acting Administrator, Northwest Region, NMFS, Sand 
Point Way NE., BIN C15700, Seattle, WA 98115-0070; or to Rebecca Lent, 
Administrator, Southwest Region, NMFS, 501 West Ocean Boulevard, Suite 
4200, Long Beach, CA 90802-4213.
    Copies of Amendment 13 and the Environmental Assessment/ Regulatory 
Impact Review (RIR) are available from Donald McIsaac, Executive 
Director, Pacific Fishery Management Council, 2130 SW Fifth Ave., Suite 
224, Portland, OR 97201.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Yvonne deReynier at 206-526-6140, 
Svein Fougner at 562-980-4000; or the Pacific Fishery Management 
Council at 503-326-6352.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Magnuson-Stevens Act requires that each 
regional fishery management council submit any new 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 notification 
in the Federal Register that the FMP or amendment is available for 
public review and comment. NMFS will consider the public comments 
received during the comment period described here in determining 
whether to approve the FMP or amendment.
    Amendment 13 would address the Magnuson-Stevens Act National 
Standard 9 bycatch provisions by: revising the FMP definition of the 
term ``bycatch'', changing the standardized reporting methodologies, 
and recommending new bycatch reduction measures. Amendment 13 would 
establish an increased utilization program in the at-sea whiting 
fisheries. This program would allow at-sea whiting processing vessels 
that carry more than one observer to retain all of their non-whiting 
groundfish bycatch for processing into fish meal or for donating to 
food banks. Measures that would be authorized and may be considered for 
future Council development include: shorter fishing seasons and higher 
cumulative landing limits; permit stacking in the limited entry fleet; 
gear modification requirements; catch allocation to, or gear 
flexibility for, gear types with lower bycatch rates; improvements in 
the species-to-species landings limit ratio; and time/area closures to 
protect incidentally caught species.
    In addition to addressing bycatch, Amendment 13 would increase 
flexibility in the groundfish annual specifications and management 
measures process to allow the Council to more easily develop measures 
that protect overfished and depleted species. This increased 
flexibility would include: achieving the overfished species rebuilding 
plans, reducing bycatch, preventing overfishing, allowing the harvest 
of healthy stocks as much as possible while protecting and rebuilding 
overfished and depleted stocks, and equitably distributing the burdens 
of rebuilding among the various fishing sectors.
    Finally, Amendment 13 would amend the limited entry permit 
provisions to remove unused and outdated limited entry permit 
endorsements. This last revision is essentially a housekeeping measure 
to address changes in the character of the groundfish fisheries, 
particularly the fully utilized status of all FMP-managed Pacific coast 
groundfish stocks.
    Public comments on Amendment 13 must be received by November 21, 
2000 to be considered by NMFS in the decision whether to approve 
Amendment 13. A proposed rule to implement Amendment 13 has been 
submitted for Secretarial review and approval. NMFS expects to publish 
and request public comment on the proposed regulations to implement 
Amendment 13 in the near future.

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

    Dated: September 19, 2000.
Bruce C. Morehead,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 00-24458 Filed 9-21-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-S