[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 50, Volume 4]
[Revised as of October 1, 2002]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 50CFR648.85]

[Page 397-398]
 
                    TITLE 50--WILDLIFE AND FISHERIES
 
                         DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
 
PART 648--FISHERIES OF THE NORTHEASTERN UNITED STATES--Table of Contents
 
  Subpart F--Management Measures for the NE Multispecies and Monkfish 
                                Fisheries
 
Sec. 648.85  Flexible Area Action System.

    (a) The Chair of the Multispecies Oversight Committee, upon learning 
of the presence of discard problems associated with large concentrations 
of juvenile, sublegal, or spawning multispecies, shall determine if the 
situation warrants further investigation and possible action. In making 
this determination, the Committee Chair shall consider the amount of 
discard of regulated species, the species targeted, the number and types 
of vessels operating in the area, the location and size of the area, and 
the resource condition of the impacted species. If he/she determines it 
is necessary, the Committee Chair will request the Regional 
Administrator to initiate a fact finding investigation to verify the 
situation and publish notification in the Federal Register requesting 
public comments in accordance with the procedures therefor in Amendment 
3 to the NE Multispecies FMP.
    (b) After examining the facts, the Regional Administrator shall, 
within the deadlines specified in Amendment 3, provide the technical 
analysis required by Amendment 3.
    (c) The NEFMC shall prepare an economic impact analysis of the 
potential management options under consideration within the deadlines 
specified in Amendment 3.
    (d) Copies of the analysis and reports prepared by the Regional 
Administrator and the NEFMC shall be made available for public review at 
the NEFMC's office and the Committee shall hold a meeting/public 
hearing, at which time it shall review the analysis and reports and 
request public comments. Upon review of all available sources of 
information, the Committee shall determine what course of action is 
warranted by the facts and make a recommendation, consistent with the 
provisions of Amendment 3 to the Regional Administrator.
    (e) By the deadline set in Amendment 3 the Regional Administrator 
shall either accept or reject the Committee's recommendation. If the 
recommended action is consistent with the record established by the 
fact-finding report, impact analysis, and comments received at the 
public hearing, he/she shall accept the Committee's recommendation and 
implement it through notification in the Federal Register and by notice 
sent to all vessel owners holding multispecies permits. The Regional 
Administrator shall also use other appropriate media, including, but not 
limited to, mailings to the news media, fishing industry associations 
and radio broadcasts, to disseminate information on the action to be 
implemented.
    (f) Once implemented, the Regional Administrator shall monitor the 
affected area to determine if the action is still warranted. If the 
Regional Administrator determines that the circumstances under which the 
action was taken, based on the Regional Administrator's report, the 
NEFMC's report, and the public comments, are no longer in existence, he/
she shall terminate the

[[Page 398]]

action by notification in the Federal Register.
    (g) Actions taken under this section will ordinarily become 
effective upon the date of filing with the Office of the Federal 
Register. The Regional Administrator may determine that facts warrant a 
delayed effective date.