[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 98 (Monday, May 21, 2012)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 29961-29962]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-12273]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 679
RIN 0648-BB42
Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone off Alaska and Pacific
Halibut Fisheries; Observer Program
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Notice of public hearing.
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SUMMARY: On April 18, 2012, we, NMFS, published a proposed rule in the
Federal Register to restructure the funding and deployment system for
observers in North Pacific groundfish and halibut fisheries via
Amendment 86 to the Fishery Management Plan for Groundfish of the
Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Management Area (BSAI FMP) and
Amendment 76 to the Fishery Management Plan for Groundfish of the Gulf
of Alaska (GOA FMP). The public comment period for the subject proposed
rule closes on June 18, 2012. We will hold a public hearing in Seattle,
WA, to receive oral and written comments on the proposed regulations
during the public comment period.
DATES: The public hearing will be held on June 1, 2012, 10 a.m. to 12
p.m., Pacific daylight time, at the NOAA Alaska Fisheries Science
Center, 7600 Sand Point Way NE., Building 4, Observer Training Room
(1055), Seattle, WA 98115. Written comments must be received no later
than 5 p.m., Alaska local time, June 18, 2012.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by FDMS Docket Number
NOAA-NMFS-2011-0210, by any one of the following methods:
Electronic Submissions: Submit all electronic public
comments via the Federal eRulemaking Portal Web site at http://www.regulations.gov. To submit comments via the e-Rulemaking Portal,
first click the ``Submit a Comment'' icon, then enter NOAA-NMFS-2011-
0210 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: Address written comments to Glenn Merrill, Assistant
Regional Administrator, Sustainable Fisheries Division, Alaska Region
NMFS, Attn: Ellen Sebastian. Mail comments to P.O. Box 21668, Juneau,
AK 99802-1668.
Fax: Address written comments to Glenn Merrill, Assistant
Regional Administrator, Sustainable Fisheries Division, Alaska Region
NMFS, Attn: Ellen Sebastian. Fax comments to 907-586-7557.
Hand delivery to the Federal Building: Address written
comments to Glenn Merrill, Assistant Regional Administrator,
Sustainable Fisheries Division, Alaska Region NMFS, Attn: Ellen
Sebastian. Deliver comments to 709 West 9th Street, Room 420A, Juneau,
AK.
Submit oral or written comments to NMFS at the public
hearing listed in this notice.
Comments must be submitted by one of the above methods to ensure
that the comments are received, documented, and considered by NMFS.
Comments sent by any other method, to any other address or individual,
or received after the end of the comment period, may not be considered.
All comments received are a part of the public record and will
generally be posted to http://www.regulations.gov without change. All
Personal Identifying Information (e.g., name, address) voluntarily
submitted by the commenter will 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, Excel, WordPerfect, or
Adobe portable document file (pdf) formats only.
Electronic copies of the proposed rule to implement Amendment 86 to
the BSAI FMP and Amendment 76 to the GOA FMP and the Environmental
Assessment/Regulatory Impact Review/Initial Regulatory Flexibility
Analysis prepared for this action may be obtained from http://www.regulations.gov or from the NMFS Alaska Region Web site at http://alaskafisheries.noaa.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Brandee Gerke, (907) 586-7228.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On April 18, 2012, we, NMFS, published a
proposed rule in the Federal Register (77 FR 23326) to restructure the
funding and deployment system for observers in the North Pacific
groundfish and halibut fisheries via Amendment 86 to the BSAI FMP and
Amendment 76 to GOA FMP. The proposed rule was prepared under the
authority of section 313 of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation
and Management Act (MSA). MSA section 313 requires NMFS
[[Page 29962]]
to conduct a public hearing in each state represented on the North
Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) for the purpose of
receiving public comment on the proposed regulations. The states
represented on the Council are Alaska, Oregon, and Washington. We held
public hearings in Seattle, WA, on April 17, 2012; Newport, OR, on
April 19, 2012; and in Juneau, AK, on May 2, 2012. Because the proposed
regulations did not publish until April 18, 2012, we will conduct
another public hearing on the proposed regulations in Seattle, WA, to
receive written and oral comments on the proposed regulations.
People wishing to make an oral statement for the record at the
public hearing are encouraged to provide a written copy of their
statement and present it to us at the hearing. If attendance at the
public hearing is large, the time allotted for individual oral
statements may be limited. Oral and written statements receive equal
consideration. There are no limits on the length of written comments
submitted to us.
There is no need to register for the hearing. Please be advised
that a valid government-issued photo-identification will be required
for entry through building security at the hearing.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
Dated: May 15, 2012.
Carrie Selberg,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2012-12273 Filed 5-18-12; 8:45 am]
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