[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 94 (Tuesday, May 14, 1996)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 24267-24268]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-11991]



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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 641

[I.D. 050696A]


Reef Fish Fishery of the Gulf of Mexico; 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.

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SUMMARY: NMFS announces that the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management 
Council (Council) has submitted Amendment 13 to the Fishery Management 
Plan for the Reef Fish Resources of the Gulf of Mexico (FMP) for 
review, approval, and implementation by NMFS. Written comments are 
requested from the public.

DATES: Written comments must be received on or before July 8, 1996.

ADDRESSES: Comments must be mailed to the Southeast Regional Office, 
NMFS, 9721 Executive Center Drive N., St. Petersburg, FL 33702.
    Requests for copies of Amendment 13, which includes an 
environmental assessment and a regulatory impact review, should be sent 
to the Gulf of

[[Page 24268]]

Mexico Fishery Management Council, 5401 W. Kennedy Boulevard, Suite 
331, Tampa, FL 33609-2486, fax: 813-225-7015.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Robert Sadler, 813-570-5305.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Magnuson Fishery Conservation and 
Management Act (Magnuson Act) requires that a Council-prepared 
amendment to a fishery management plan be submitted to NMFS for review 
and approval, disapproval, or partial disapproval. The Magnuson Act 
also requires that NMFS, upon receiving an amendment, immediately 
publish a notice announcing that the amendment is available for public 
review and comment.
    Amendment 13 would extend the red snapper commercial fishery trip 
limit and vessel permit endorsement provisions, currently in effect 
under an emergency interim rule (61 FR 7751, February 29, 1996), until 
implementation of: (1) The red snapper individual transferrable quota 
(ITQ) system approved under FMP Amendment 8; or (2) an alternative 
system to control access to the commercial red snapper fishery. Under 
Amendment 13, the trip limit and endorsement provisions would terminate 
on December 31, 1997, unless replaced earlier by the ITQ system or 
another controlled access program. The red snapper vessel permit 
endorsement and trip limit provisions have been in effect since 
December 1992. Proposed regulations to implement the measures of 
Amendment 13 are scheduled for publication within 15 days.

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

    Dated: May 8, 1996.
Richard W. Surdi,
Acting Director, Office of Fisheries Conservation and Management, 
National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 96-11991 Filed 5-9-96; 2:16 pm]
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