[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 70 (Thursday, April 11, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 21597-21598]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-08493]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
RIN 0648-BB71
Marine Mammals: Alaska Harbor Seal Habitats
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Notice of public workshops.
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SUMMARY: NMFS will hold two public workshops to solicit input from
stakeholders regarding our advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPR)
on potential management measures to protect glacially-associated harbor
seal habitats in Alaska (78 FR 15669; March 12, 2013). During the
workshops NMFS will present information regarding harbor seal habitat
usage and available research on the effects of vessel disturbance. NMFS
will seek input as to whether management measures are needed, and if
so, what types of measures should be considered.
DATES: We will conduct public workshops on the harbor seal ANPR on the
specific dates listed below:
1. April 22, 2013, from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Alaska Daylight Time (ADT)
in Juneau, Alaska.
2. April 23, 2013, from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. (ADT) in Yakutat, Alaska.
ADDRESSES: The workshop locations are:
1. Juneau, AK--Centennial Hall, Hickel Room, 101 Egan Drive,
Juneau, AK 99801.
2. Yakutat, AK--ANB Hall, 522 Max Italio Dr., Yakutat, AK 99689.
You may submit written comments, identified by FDMS Docket Number
NOAA-NMFS-2011-0284, before May 12, 2013 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-
0284 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 Jon Kurland, Assistant
Regional Administrator, Protected Resources Division, Alaska Region
NMFS, Attn: Ellen Sebastian. Mail comments to P.O. Box 21668, Juneau,
AK 99802-1668.
Fax: Address written comments to Jon Kurland, Assistant
Regional Administrator, Protected Resources Division, Alaska Region
NMFS, Attn: Ellen Sebastian. Fax comments to 907-586-7557.
Hand delivery to the Federal Building: Address written
comments to Jon Kurland, Assistant Regional Administrator, Protected
Resources Division, Alaska Region NMFS, Attn: Ellen Sebastian. Deliver
comments to 709 West 9th Street, Room 420A, Juneau, AK.
Hand delivery to NMFS at one of the public workshops
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 ANPR 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: Alicia Bishop, NMFS Alaska Regional
Office, (907) 586-7224; or Shannon Bettridge, NMFS Office of Protected
Resources, (301) 427-8402.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On March 12, 2013, NMFS published an ANPR in
the Federal Register (78 FR 15669) to consider whether to propose
regulations to protect glacially-associated harbor seal habitats in
Alaska used for pupping, nursing, resting, and molting, and to limit
vessel disturbance to harbor seals in those habitats. We will conduct
two public workshops to inform interested parties of the ANPR and
receive written comments.
In response to the ANPR, and at the workshops, we are seeking
information and comments concerning: (1) The advisability of and need
for regulations; (2) the geographic scope and time horizon of
regulations; (3) management options for regulating vessel interactions
with harbor seals, including but not limited to the options listed in
this notice; (4) scientific and commercial information regarding the
effects of vessels on harbor seals and their habitat; (5) information
regarding potential economic effects of regulating vessel interactions;
(6) the feasibility of any management measure or regulation (for
example, navigational safety or security concerns); and (7) any
additional relevant information that NMFS should consider should it
undertake rulemaking.
Oral statements will not be recorded at the workshop. We encourage
interested people, groups, and organizations to provide a written copy
of their statement and present it to us at
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the workshop. Blank ``comment sheets'' will be provided at the public
meetings for those without prepared written comments. In addition, we
encourage the submission of comments in accordance with the
instructions the ANPR. If attendance at the public workshops is large,
the time allotted for individual oral comments may be limited. There
are no limits on the length of written comments submitted to us. There
is no need to register for these workshops.
Dated: April 5, 2013.
Helen M. Golde,
Acting Director, Office of Protected Resources, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2013-08493 Filed 4-10-13; 8:45 am]
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