21430 Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 92 / Friday, May 10, 1996 / Proposed Rules

[FR Doc. 96–11213 Filed 5–9–96; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310–55–C
Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 92 / Friday, May 10, 1996 / Proposed Rules 21431

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration

50 CFR Part 650

[I.D. 042996G]

New England Fishery Management

Council; Public Hearing

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),

Commerce.

ACTION: Public hearing; request for

comments.

SUMMARY: The New England Fishery

Management Council (Council) will

hold a public hearing to seek input on

Amendment 5 to the Atlantic Sea

Scallop Fishery Management Plan

(FMP). Amendment 5 would close an

area to some fishing activities over an

18-month period to allow an experiment

and demonstration project involving sea

scallop research, resource enhancement,

and aquaculture.

DATES: Written comments must be

received on or before June 4, 1996. The

hearing will be held on Friday, May 17,

1996, at 1 p.m.

ADDRESSES: Requests for special

accommodations should be addressed to

the New England Fishery Management

Council, 5 Broadway, Saugus, MA

01906–1097. Copies of proposed

Amendment 5 will be available at the

hearing, but may be obtained in advance

by calling or writing the Council office.

The hearing will take place at the

University of Massachusetts Cranberry

Experiment Station, Glen Charlie Road,

Wareham, MA; telephone: (508) 295–

2212.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Douglas G. Marshall, Executive Director,

New England Fishery Management

Council, (671) 231–0422.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Fishermen

and any other interested members of the

public are encouraged to attend this

hearing to review a proposal to amend

the FMP. Amendment 5 would establish

a temporary experimental use area in

Federal waters approximately 12 miles

(22.22 km) southwest of Martha’s

Vineyard. During the 18-month-long

project, the area would be used to

determine whether it is feasible to

enhance wild stocks through bottom

seeding, and to study the interactions of

the harvesting gear, sea scallops and

their habitat, open-ocean pen

engineering, and the growth rates of

transferred juvenile brood stock in both

pen culture and open bottom culture.

Otter trawling, mid-water trawling

and the use of other mobile gear,

shellfish dredging and gillnetting would

be prohibited within the 9 square-mile

(23.31 square-km) site. Other fishing

gear such as lobster traps and longline

gear would be controlled but allowed

within the area and the operation of

hand gear would not be restricted. If the

project is approved, the Council will

amend the FMP accordingly.

Discussion of this issue will be

included on the agenda at the Council’s

June 5–6, 1996, meeting at the King’s

Grant Inn, Danvers, MA. There will be

an opportunity for public comment at

that time.

This meeting is physically accessible

to people with disabilities. Requests for

sign language interpretation or other

auxiliary aids should be directed to

Douglas G. Marshall (see ADDRESSES) at

least 5 days prior to the meeting date.

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

Dated: May 6, 1996.

Richard W. Surdi,

Acting Director, Office of Fisheries

Conservation and Management, National

Marine Fisheries Service.

[FR Doc. 96–11772 Filed 5–9–96; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510–22–F

50 CFR Part 673

[Docket No. 960502124–6124–01; I.D.

042396B]

RIN 0648–AF81

Scallop Fishery off Alaska; Federal

Management Regime

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),

Commerce.

ACTION: Proposed rule; proposed 1996

scallop harvest specifications; request

for comments.

SUMMARY: NMFS proposes regulations to

implement Amendment 1 to the Fishery

Management Plan for the Scallop

Fishery off Alaska (FMP). Amendment 1

would establish a Federal management

regime for the scallop fishery in Federal

waters off Alaska. The management

measures proposed under Amendment 1

include: Gear and efficiency restrictions,

scallop registration areas and districts,

procedures for specifying total

allowable catch (TAC) and crab bycatch

limits (CBLs), time and area closures,

inseason management authority, fishing

seasons, and observer coverage

requirements. This action is necessary

to further the conservation and

management objectives of the FMP and

the Magnuson Fishery Conservation and

Management Act (Magnuson Act).

DATES: Comments must be received by

June 21, 1996.

ADDRESSES: Comments must be sent to

Ronald J. Berg, Chief, Fisheries

Management Division, Alaska Region,

NMFS, P.O. Box 21668, Juneau, AK

99802, Attn: Lori J. Gravel. Copies of the

proposed FMP amendment and the

Environmental Assessment/ Regulatory

Impact Review/Initial Regulatory

Flexibility Analysis (EA/RIR/IRFA)

prepared for this action may be obtained

from the same address.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kent

Lind, 907–586–7228.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

The scallop fishery in the exclusive

economic zone (Federal waters) off

Alaska is managed under the FMP. The

FMP was prepared by the North Pacific

Fishery Management Council (Council)

under the Magnuson Act. The FMP was

approved by NMFS on July 26, 1995.

The only management measure

currently authorized under the FMP is

an interim closure of Federal waters off

Alaska to fishing for scallops for 1 year,

or until an amendment to the FMP is

prepared that would provide for a

managed fishery in Federal waters. The

interim closure will expire on August

28, 1996. Regulations implementing the

FMP are set out at 50 CFR part 673.

General regulations that also affect

fishing in Federal waters are set out at

50 CFR part 620. The history of the

scallop fishery off Alaska, as well as the

events leading up to the interim closure

of Federal waters are described in the

FMP and in the preambles to the

proposed and final rules implementing

the FMP (60 FR 24822, May 10, 1995,

and 60 FR 42070, August 15, 1995,

respectively).

In June 1995, the Council adopted

Amendment 1 to the FMP, which would

authorize Federal management

measures to replace the interim closure

of Federal waters to fishing for scallops.

The Council’s preferred alternative for

Amendment 1 was to incorporate

certain State of Alaska (State)

management measures into the Federal

regulations and implement a vessel

moratorium based on criteria adopted in

April 1994 and reaffirmed in January

1995. Eighteen vessels would qualify

under the moratorium. The Council

subsequently separated the moratorium

from Amendment 1 and will propose a

vessel moratorium as Amendment 2.

Such action was taken to prevent

moratorium issues from delaying the

reopening of the fishery.