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Amendment 7 Fishery Ecosystem Plan for Pelagic Fisheries of the Western Pacific Region regarding the use and assignment of catch and effort limits of pelagic management unit species by the U.S. Pacific Island Territories and specification of annual bigeye tuna catch limits for the U.S. Pacific Island Territories : including an environmental assessment and regulatory impact review, RIN 0648-BD46
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2014
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[PDF-4.99 MB]
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Description:The Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC), of which the United States is a member, develops and agrees on management measures for highly migratory species caught by WCPFC members and Participating Territories in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean. The U.S. Participating Territories include American Samoa, Guam, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. The WCPFC may agree on conservation and management measures, such as catch and effort limits, that are applicable to U.S. pelagic fisheries operating in the western and central Pacific Ocean. This amendment to the Fishery Ecosystem Plan for Pacific Pelagic Fisheries of the Western Pacific Region (Pelagics FEP) establishes: 1) A management framework to establish catch or effort limits applicable to the U.S. Participating Territories that includes the authorization for the U.S. Participating Territories to use, assign, allocate, and manage the pelagic management species catch and effort limits agreed to by the WCPFC through agreements with U.S. vessels permitted under the Pelagics FEP for the purposes of responsible fisheries development. The Western Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) could also recommend and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) could specify catch or effort limits in the absence of such limits or additional or more restrictive limits than the WCPFC for conservation and management purposes. The framework also provides for consistency review of Territory agreements with the Pelagics FEP and other applicable laws by the Council and NMFS, as well as annual review and specification recommendations by the Council. 2) This action also includes the specification of catch limits for bigeye tuna caught by longline of 2,000 metric tons (mt) per year for each of the U.S. Participating Territories, of which 1,000 mt may be transferred annually under agreements consistent with the Pelagics FEP and other applicable laws to eligible U.S. vessels permitted under the Pelagics FEP. The Council and NMFS prepared this FEP amendment, which includes an environmental assessment (EA) and Regulatory Impact Review. This document serves as the basis for NMFS to determine whether to prepare an environmental impact statement. If approved by the Secretary of Commerce, the document also informs NMFS in its development of regulations that implement the selected action. NMFS solicited public comments on the draft FEP amendment and EA, and proposed rule. See sections 1.2 and 1.3 for how NMFS solicited comments, the public review process, and a document overview.
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Rights Information:Public Domain
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Compliance:Submitted
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