41782 Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 150 /Wednesday, August 5, 1998 / Proposed Rules

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration

50 CFR Part 679

[I.D. 072898A]

RIN 0648-AL22

Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic

Zone Off Alaska; Western Alaska

Community Development Quota

Program

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),

Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of availability, request

for comments.

SUMMARY: The North Pacific Fishery

Management Council (Council) has

submitted Amendment 45 to the Fishery

Management Plan for the Groundfish

Fishery of the Bering Sea and Aleutian

Islands Area (FMP) for Secretarial

review. This amendment would

reauthorize the allocation of pollock to

the Western Alaska Community

Development Quota (CDQ) Program and

would reorganize the FMP so that all

text addressing the CDQ Program is in

a single section. This action is necessary

to further the objectives of the FMP.

Comments from the public are

requested.

DATES: Comments on Amendment 45

must be submitted by October 5, 1998.

ADDRESSES: Comments on the FMP

amendment should be submitted to Sue

Salveson, Assistant Regional

Administrator, Sustainable Fisheries

Division, Alaska Region, NMFS, P.O.

Box 21668, Juneau, AK 99802, Attn:

Lori Gravel, or delivered to the Federal

Building, 709 West 9th Street, Juneau,

AK. Copies of Amendment 45, the

environmental assessment and the

regulatory impact review prepared for

the proposed action are available from

NMFS, at the above address, or by

calling the Alaska Region, NMFS at

907–586–7228.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Sally Bibb, NMFS, 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 amendment it prepares to NMFS

for review and approval, disapproval, or

partial approval. The Magnuson-Stevens

Act also requires that NMFS, after

receiving a fishery management plan or

amendment, immediately publish a

document in the Federal Register that

the fishery management plan or

amendment is available for public

review and comment. This action

constitutes such notice for Amendment

45 to the FMP.

Amendment 45 was adopted by the

Council at its June 1998 meeting. If

approved by NMFS, this amendment

would allocate 7.5 percent of the total

allowable catch of pollock in the BSAI

to the CDQ Program. This action is

necessary to continue the annual

allocation of pollock to the CDQ

program that was initially approved by

NMFS in 1992.

NMFS will consider the public

comments received during the comment

period in determining whether to

approve the proposed amendment. A

proposed rule to implement

Amendment 45 has been submitted for

Secretarial review and approval. The

proposed rule to implement this

amendment is scheduled to be

published within 15 days of this

document.

Dated: July 30, 1998.

Bruce C. Morehead,

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service.

[FR Doc. 98–20888 Filed 8–4–98; 8:45 am]

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