[Federal Register: April 26, 2010 (Volume 75, Number 79)]
[Notices]
[Page 21600-21601]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr26ap10-35]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
RIN 0648-XW07
Groundfish Fisheries of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Area
and the Gulf of Alaska; King and Tanner Crab Fisheries in the Bering
Sea/Aleutian Islands; Scallop and Salmon Fisheries Off the Coast of
Alaska
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Notification of a call for proposals for Habitat Areas of
Particular Concern (HAPCs) and associated fishery management measures.
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SUMMARY: The North Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) and
NMFS are soliciting proposals for candidate sites that could be
identified as HAPCs and managed within Essential Fish Habitat (EFH)
pursuant to the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management
Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act). The Council has identified skate nurseries
as a priority for consideration during this call for proposals, and
proposals must meet the identified priority.
DATES: Proposals must be submitted by August 16, 2010.
ADDRESSES: Proposals should be submitted to the North Pacific Fishery
Management Council, 605 W. 4th Ave., Suite 306, Anchorage, AK 99501-
2252.
[[Page 21601]]
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Diana Evans or Sarah Melton, (907)
271-2809.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: HAPC designations provide an opportunity for
Councils to highlight especially valuable and/or vulnerable areas
within EFH that warrant priority consideration for conservation and
management. The regulatory guidelines for implementing the EFH
provisions of the Magnuson-Stevens Act encourage Fishery Management
Councils to identify specific types or areas of habitat within EFH as
HAPCs based on the following considerations: (1) the importance of the
ecological function provided by the habitat, (2) the extent to which
the habitat is sensitive to human-induced environmental degradation,
(3) whether, and to what extent, development activities are, or will
be, stressing the habitat type, and (4) the rarity of the habitat type
(50 CFR 600.815(a)(8)). In the North Pacific, specific sites will be
considered for HAPC if they (a) meet the rarity consideration above,
and (b) meet at least one other of the HAPC considerations.
The Council and NMFS are soliciting proposals for specific
candidate sites to be considered as HAPCs. Proposals must meet the
Council's identified priority for this proposal cycle, which is skate
nurseries. Proposal applications are available on the Council website,
www.alaskafisheries.noaa.gov/npfmc. The review process for proposals is
identified in the proposal package, available on the website, and will
involve screening to determine how responsive proposals are to the
Council's priority and HAPC consideration. Following review, the
Council will decide whether to proceed with a fishery management plan
amendment to identify HAPCs and any associated management measures.
NMFS will promulgate any resulting regulations, supported by
appropriate analyses.
Proposals should include the following information:
1. Proposer information (name, address, affiliation)
2. Title of proposal
3. Summary of proposal (single, brief paragraph describing the
proposed action)
4. Identification of what habitat and FMP species the proposed area
is intended to protect
5. Geographic delineation of the proposed HAPC (including latitude
and longitude reference points and delineation on an appropriately-
scaled NOAA chart)
6. Responsiveness to HAPC considerations and Council priorities
(identify how the proposed HAPC addresses the four considerations set
out in the EFH guidelines, and the Council's priority habitat type for
the 2010 proposal process)
7. Purpose and need for proposal
8. Specific objectives for proposal, and methods to measure
progress toward those objectives
9. Proposed management measures, if appropriate, to meet objectives
10. Expected benefits of the proposed HAPC to FMP species
11. Identification of fisheries, sectors, stakeholders, and
communities who would be affected by the establishment of the proposed
HAPC
12. Supporting information (please provide the best available
information and/or sources of information to support the objectives of
the proposed HAPC and discussion of the expected effects of
implementing the proposal, including socioeconomic costs if possible.)
Dated: April 21, 2010.
Tracey Thompson,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2010-9569 Filed 4-23-10; 8:45 am]
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