[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 204 (Monday, October 24, 1994)] [Unknown Section] [Page 0] From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov] [FR Doc No: 94-26305] [[Page Unknown]] [Federal Register: October 24, 1994] ======================================================================= ----------------------------------------------------------------------- DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 15 CFR Part 940 RIN 0648-AC94 Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary Regulations AGENCY: Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management (OCRM), National Ocean Service (NOS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce. ACTION: Notice of effective date. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- SUMMARY: This notice announces the effective date for the final rule implementing the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary, offshore of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The final rule which was published on October 19, 1993 could not become effective until a congressional review period of 45 days of continuous session was completed. EFFECTIVE DATE: The regulations at 15 CFR Part 940 published on October 19, 1993 (58 FR 53865) are effective March 20, 1994. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. R. Randall Schneider, Atlantic/Great Lakes Regional Manager, Sanctuaries and Reserves Division, Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management, National Ocean Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, SSMC-4, Station 12158, 1305 East-West Highway, Silver Spring, MD 20910 (301/713-3132). SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On October 19, 1993, the Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere transmitted the Notice of Final Rule and Summary of Final Management Plan for the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary to Congress. This action initiated a review period of 45 days of continuous congressional session. Under section 304(b) of the National Marine Sanctuaries Program Amendments Act of 1992, the regulations to implement the Sanctuary designation and regulate the conduct of certain activities shall take effect and become final at the conclusion of the 45-day review period. Thus, the regulations became effective on March 20, 1994. The Notice of Final Rule and Summary of Final Management Plan was also published in the Federal Register on October 19, 1993 (58 FR 53865). On November 4, 1992, Public Law 102-587 was signed, which, among other matters, provides for designation of the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary, as described therein. The designated Sanctuary encompasses a total of approximately 638 square nautical miles (approximately 2181 square kilometers) of ocean waters, and the submerged lands thereunder, over and surrounding the submerged Stellwagen Bank and additional submerged features, offshore of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Stellwagen Bank is a submerged, glacially-deposited primarily sandy feature extending for approximately 20 miles in a southeast-to- northwest direction, in the extreme southwestern Gulf of Maine, between Cape Ann, Massachusetts and the northern end of Cape Cod, Massachusetts, at the eastern edge of Massachusetts Bay. The combination of physical and oceanographic characteristics over an around the Bank result in two distinct peak productivity periods annually. This productivity supports a large variety of benthic, invertebrate and pelagic fishery resources, which have in turn supported generations of fishermen. The Bank also provides important feeding and nursery grounds for an extraordinary number of large and small cetacean species. Accessibility of the Bank from land has resulted in an extensive commercial whalewatch industry, attracting more than 1.25 million visitors to the Bank annually. The combination of productivity and accessibility also provides the base for high levels of scientific interest in the Stellwagen Bank area. Federal Domestic Assistance Catalog Number 11.4229 Marine Sanctuary Program Dated: October 18, 1994. Frank W. Maloney, Deputy Assistant Administrator for Ocean Services and Coastal Zone Management. [FR Doc. 94-26305 Filed 10-21-94; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 3510-08-M