Environmental Assessment/Regulatory Impact Review for the North Pacific Fisheries Research Plan Regulatory Amendment to the Pacific Halibut Fishery Regulations

Section 313 of the Magnuson Fishery Conservation and Management Act authorizes the North Pacific Fishery Management Council to prepare a North Pacific Fisheries Research Plan for all fisheries under the Council's jurisdiction except salmon. This Plan would be prepared in consultation with the Secretary of Commerce. Any such plan would require observers to be stationed on fishing vessels and on fish processors or shoreside processing facilities. The location of observers would be appropriate to collect data necessary for the conservation, management, and scientific understanding of any fisheries under the Council's jurisdiction, including halibut, but excluding salmon. It also would establish a system of fees to pay for the costs of implementing the Research Plan.