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Director submitted a Decision Memorandum to the Assistant 

 Administrator proposing to disapprove the 30,000 mt reserve 

 recommended by the Council, and to publish the remainder of the 

 Council's recommendation as a proposed rule in the Federal 

 Register . After further discussion within NMFS , NOAA, the 

 Department, and 0MB, the Assistant Administrator published a 

 proposed rule in the Federal Register on March 18, 1993, 

 requesting public comments on the Council's recommendation 

 without the 30,000 mt reserve, and on several other options. 



Following the public comment period, the Assistant 

 Administrator reviewed the voluminous administrative record, 

 including comments received during the public comment period, and 

 came to a different conclusion than the Regional Director. The 

 Assistant Administrator determined that the record failed to 

 justify either the Council's recommendation or the partial 

 disapproval recommended by the Regional Director. As a result, 

 the Assistant Administrator withdrew approval authority from the 

 Regional Director and recommended disapproval of two parts of the 

 Council's original recommendation — the 30,000 mt reserve and 

 the sliding scale formula. This action would have guaranteed the 

 shoreside processing sector 50,000 mt in 1993 — approximately 

 the saT.e quantity of whiting as that sector used in 1992. 



After further discussions within the Department and at OKB, 

 the Assistant Administrator's recommendation was not concurred in 



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