[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 62 (Friday, March 30, 2012)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 19164-19165]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-7713]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Parts 600 and 635
RIN 0648-XB121
Atlantic Highly Migratory Species; 2006 Consolidated Highly
Migratory Species Fishery Management Plan; Amendment 4
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Notice of public hearings.
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SUMMARY: On March 16, 2012, NMFS published a proposed rule for a
fishery management plan (FMP) amendment modifying the regulations
governing the Federal small-scale HMS fisheries in the U.S. Caribbean,
and announced that public hearings would be scheduled in a future
notice. In this notice, NMFS is announcing public hearings in St.
Croix, United States Virgin Islands (USVI) St. Thomas, USVI, San Juan,
Puerto Rico (PR), Ponce, PR, and Mayaguez, PR, in order to provide
greater opportunity for public comment on the proposed rule. Public
comments on the proposed rule must be received on or before June 14,
2012.
DATES: Public hearings for Amendment 4 to the 2006 Consolidated Highly
Migratory Species (HMS) Fishery Management Plan (FMP) will be held from
April through May 2012. See SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION for meeting
dates, times, and locations.
ADDRESSES: As published on March 16, 2012 (77 FR 15701), written
comments on this action may be submitted, identified by NOAA-NMFS-2012-
0053, by any one of the following methods:
Electronic submissions: Submit all electronic public
comments via the Federal e-Rulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. To submit comments via the e-Rulemaking Portal,
first click the ``submit a comment'' icon, then enter NOAA-NMFS-2012-
0053 in the keyword search. Locate the document you wish to comment on
from the resulting list and click on the ``Submit a Comment'' icon on
the right of that line.
Mail: Submit written comments to Margo Schulze-Haugen,
1315 East-West Highway, Silver Spring, MD 20910.
Fax: 301-713-1917; Attn: Margo Schulze-Haugen.
Instructions: All comments received are part of the public record
and generally will be posted to portal http://www.regulations.gov
without
[[Page 19165]]
change. All personal identifying information (for example, name,
address, etc.) voluntarily submitted by the commenter may be publicly
accessible. Do not submit confidential business information or
otherwise sensitive or protected information. NMFS will accept
anonymous comments (enter ``N/A'' in the required fields if you wish to
remain anonymous). Attachments to electronic comments will be accepted
in Microsoft Word or Excel, WordPerfect, or Adobe PDF file formats
only.
Supporting documents, including the 2012 Environmental Assessment,
Regulatory Impact Review, and Final Regulatory Flexibility Analysis, as
well as others, such as the Highly Migratory Species Fishery Management
Plans may be downloaded from the HMS Web site at www.nmfs.noaa.gov/sfa/hms/. These documents also are available by calling Greg Fairclough or
Randy Blankinship at 727-824-5399.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Greg Fairclough or Randy Blankinship
at 727-824-5399.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Atlantic tunas and swordfish are managed
under the dual authority of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation
and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act) and the Atlantic Tuna
Conventions Act (ATCA), which authorizes the Secretary of Commerce
(Secretary) to promulgate regulations as may be necessary and
appropriate to implement recommendations of ICCAT. Federal Atlantic
shark fisheries are managed under the authority of the Magnuson-Stevens
Act. The authority to issue regulations under the Magnuson-Stevens Act
and ATCA has been delegated from the Secretary to the Assistant
Administrator for Fisheries, NOAA (AA). On May 28, 1999, NMFS published
in the Federal Register (64 FR 29090) final regulations, effective July
1, 1999, implementing the Fishery Management Plan for Atlantic Tunas,
Swordfish, and Sharks (1999 FMP). On October 2, 2006, NMFS published in
the Federal Register (71 FR 58058) final regulations, effective
November 1, 2006, implementing the 2006 Consolidated HMS FMP, which
details the management measures for Atlantic HMS fisheries, including
the HMS handgear fishery.
In a proposed rule published on March 16, 2012 (77 FR 15701), NMFS
indicated that dates and locations for public hearings on the proposed
action would be published in the Federal Register at a later date. In
this notice, NMFS announces that it will hold six public hearings (see
Table 1 for meeting dates, times, and locations). These hearings, in
addition to written comment collected via the methods described above,
will allow NMFS to collect public comments on the proposed rule, which
will assist NMFS in determining the final action for Amendment 4 to the
2006 Consolidated HMS FMP, consistent with the Magnuson-Stevens Act,
ATCA, and other applicable laws.
Table 1--Dates, Times, and Locations of Six Public Hearings
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Date Time Meeting locations Address
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April 10, 2012.................... 6-9 p.m.............. Buccaneer Hotel...... 5007 Estate Shoys,
Christiansted, VI 00820.
April 11, 2012.................... 8 a.m................ Buccaneer Hotel...... 5007 Estate Shoys,
Christiansted, VI 00820.
April 12, 2012.................... 6-9 p.m.............. Frenchman's Reef Frenchman's Reef Marriott 5
Marriot. Estate Bakkeroe, St. Thomas,
USVI 00801.
May 8, 2012....................... 3-5 p.m.............. Ateneo Puertorriqueno Biblioteca del Ateneo
Puertorriqueno, Avenida
Constitucion, Parada 2, Viejo
San Juan, San Juan PR 00901.
May 9, 2012....................... 2-5 p.m.............. Servicio de Extension 2440 Avenida Las Americas,
Agricola. Ste. 208, Centro
Gubernamental, Ponce, PR
00717-2111.
May 10, 2012...................... 6-9 p.m.............. Universidad de Puerto University of Puerto Rico,
Rico. Mayaguez Campus, Physics
Building, Room 310, Mayaguez,
PR 00680.
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Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
Dated: March 27, 2012.
Emily H. Menashes,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2012-7713 Filed 3-27-12; 4:15 pm]
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