[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 66 (Thursday, April 6, 1995)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 17464-17465]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-8499]



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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 655

[Docket No. 950118018-5083-02; I.D. 111494E]
RIN 0648-XX02


Atlantic Mackerel, Squid, and Butterfish Fisheries; Final 1995 
Specifications

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

ACTION: Final specifications for the 1995 Atlantic mackerel, squid, and 
butterfish fisheries.

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SUMMARY: NMFS issues the final specifications for the 1995 fishing year 
for Atlantic mackerel, squid, and butterfish. This action complies with 
the regulations governing this fishery, which require NMFS to publish 
annual specifications.

EFFECTIVE DATE: April 5, 1995.

ADDRESSES: Copies of the Environmental Assessment are available from 
the Northeast Regional Office, National Marine Fisheries Service, 1 
Blackburn Drive, Gloucester, MA 01930. Copies of the Mid-Atlantic 
Fishery Management Council's quota paper and recommendations are 
available from David R. Keifer, Executive Director, Mid-Atlantic 
Fishery Management Council, Room 2115, Federal Building, 300 South New 
Street, Dover, DE 19901.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Hannah Goodale, 508-281-9101.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Regulations implementing the Fishery 
Management Plan for the Atlantic Mackerel, Squid, and Butterfish 
Fisheries (FMP) prepared by the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council 
appear at 50 CFR part 655. These regulations require NMFS to publish a 
document specifying the initial annual amounts of the initial optimum 
yield (IOY), as well as the amounts for allowable biological catch 
(ABC), domestic annual harvest (DAH), domestic annual processing (DAP), 
joint venture processing (JVP), and total allowable levels of foreign 
fishing (TALFF) for the species managed under the FMP. No reserves are 
permitted under the FMP for any of these species. Procedures for 
determining the initial annual amounts are found in Sec. 655.22.
    These specifications are unchanged from the proposed specifications 
that were published in the Federal Register on January 26, 1995 (60 FR 
5162). No public comments were received concerning the proposed 
specifications. After consideration of all relevant data, NMFS has made 
a final determination of the initial amounts for each species. The 
following table contains the final 1995 initial specifications for 
Atlantic mackerel, Loligo and Illex squids, and butterfish.

[[Page 17465]]
     Final Initial Specifications for Atlantic Mackerel, Squid, and     
Butterfish for the Fishing Year January 1 Through December 31, 1995 (mt)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                Squid                                   
   Specifications    --------------------------   Atlantic    Butterfish
                         Loligo       Illex       Mackerel              
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Max OY<SUP>1.............       44,000       30,000         <SUP>2N/A       16,000
ABC<SUP>3................       36,000       30,000      850,000       16,000
IOY.................       36,000       30,000     <SUP>4100,000       10,000
DAH.................       36,000       30,000     <SUP>5100,000       10,000
DAP.................       36,000       30,000       50,000       10,000
JVP.................            0            0       35,000            0
TALFF...............            0            0            0            0
------------------------------------------------------------------------
<SUP>1Max OY as stated in the FMP.                                           
<SUP>2Not applicable; see the FMP.                                           
<SUP>3IOY can rise to this amount.                                           
<SUP>4This specification may be increased to 134,000 mt, the long-term       
  potential catch for the Atlantic mackerel fishery.                    
<SUP>5Contains 15,000 mt projected recreational catch based on the formula   
  contained in the regulations (50 CFR part 655).                       

    NMFS also announces the four special conditions put forth for 
public comment that would affect any foreign joint venture fishery for 
Atlantic mackerel, should one occur in 1995: (1) River herring bycatch 
south of 37 deg.30' N. lat. may not exceed 0.25 percent of the over-
the-side transfers of Atlantic mackerel; (2) the Director, Northeast 
Region, NMFS (Regional Director) should do everything within his power 
to reduce impacts on marine mammals in prosecuting the Atlantic 
mackerel fisheries; (3) IOY may be increased during the year, but the 
total should not exceed 134,000 mt; and (4) applications from any given 
nation for a joint venture for 1995 will not be decided on until the 
Regional Director determines, based on an evaluation of performances, 
that the nation's purchase obligations for previous years have been 
fulfilled. There were no comments received regarding these conditions.

Classification

    This action is authorized by 50 CFR part 655.
    These final specifications are exempt from review under E.O. 12866.

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

    Dated: March 30, 1995.
Samuel W. McKeen,
Acting Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries 
Service.
[FR Doc. 95-8499 Filed 4-5-95; 8:45 am]
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